


Its All Fun and Games Until the Slime Mould Spores Escape

by Haggis (Karen121968)



Series: Kate Stewart/Osgood [1]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio)
Genre: Big Finish (Audio), F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-04-18 03:15:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 63,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14203824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karen121968/pseuds/Haggis
Summary: Who could ever forget the fantastic entrance from Death in Heaven - "Kate Stewart. Divorcee, mother of two, keen gardener, outstanding bridge player. Also Chief Scientific Officer, Unified Intelligence Taskforce, who currently have you surrounded"So this brought up several theories on how Kate could possibly have two children and be divorced while sticking (sort of) to canon.  The crux of the problem is detailed herehttp://darklioness82.tumblr.com/post/167581350767/kate-lethbridge-stewart-disposable-canonby Darklioness82.The following is my rambling theory to explain some of the inconsistencies away.....unsurprisingly I know nothing about barnacles, naval vessels or slime mould. The movie choices they make, however, are perfect even if I do say so myself :)





	1. Monday

Kate twirled her pen in her hand, she had been listening to the presentation from Donaldson for twenty minutes and he’d been bordering on waffle five minutes ago. Sliding a glance to Osgood she hid a smile as she watched the young woman fiddling with her inhaler. Taking a deeper breath she made herself tune back into the older man at the front of the room. Five minutes later she was about to point out his inability to get to the point when her phone suddenly vibrated on the table in front of her, causing her to jump in surprise before grabbing it in her hand. “Sorry” she blushed and gestured for Donaldson to continue. The phone vibrated again and she dropped her hand under the table, squinting to read the text message. “Sorry, I need to take this” she whispered to Osgood before standing and walking out of the room. She heard Osgood tell Donaldson to continue as she clicked the door shut behind her, hitting speed dial. “Liz, what’s wrong?” 

Osgood told everyone to take a tea break ten minutes later. She knew that the next report was of interest to Kate and wanted to find out whether she’d be rejoining them. “Ma’am” she saw the blonde staring out of the window at the gardens across from the Tower. When Kate turned to look at her she saw tears in her eyes, although they were hastily wiped away and the phone dropped into her trouser pocket. “Sorry, is everything alright?” Osgood looked over her shoulder, making sure that nobody else could see them. 

“Mmmm” Kate nodded before clearing her throat and sticking her hands in her pockets. “Sorry about that, did he finally finish or did you dig a tunnel to escape?”

Osgood smiled “I’ll have a word, he does seem to enjoy the sound of his own voice and he doesn’t get to present to the big boss very often”

“He won’t get me to listen any more often if he continues to use ten words where one will do” Kate swallowed and drew in a breath. 

“I can reschedule the rest of the presentations for Friday if you’d rather not sit through anymore?” Osgood offered.

“I can’t make Friday, I’m afraid” Kate looked around and gestured for Osgood to follow her. “The phone call, I have a funeral to go to and some arrangements to make this afternoon so can we move the meeting out to next week?”

“Of course, sorry ma’am” Osgood nodded and frantically tried to figure out whether she should pat her arm or offer a hug, deciding on offering her handkerchief instead.

“Old age, we don’t get many deaths caused by that” Kate shrugged and dabbed her eyes with the clean cotton. “Thanks”

**********************************

Kate dumped her bag on the kitchen table and shrugged out of her raincoat. Taking the bottle of wine and ready-meal out of her reusable bag she switched the oven on and searched for the corkscrew. Once her dinner was in the oven and the wine was open and breathing she grabbed her phone from the table and wandered through to the living room, hitting redial. “Liz,” she said softly, sitting on the edge of the sofa cushion and resting her elbows on her knees.

“Kate” the achingly familiar voice sighed out her name. 

“I spoke to the boys, they’re making arrangements to meet up and travel down together on Friday morning, said they’d phone you later” Kate sighed. “I’ll get the train down on Thursday afternoon”

“I’ll collect you at the station” the redhead settled back on her sofa, pulling the crocheted blanket across her legs. “Thank you for calling them, I’d run out of steam after the hospital”

“Of course” Kate sat back, rolling her neck to loosen muscles suddenly tight again. “How’s Phil?”

“He’s as well as can be expected, I suppose” Liz closed her eyes. “I offered to stay with him but you know what he’s like”

Kate smiled, “I should know, mine was just as bad” They caught up with each other until Kate’s dinner was ready. “I’ll phone you when I get to the station, just let me know if there’s anything else I can do before then?”


	2. Thursday

Osgood huffed as the search return didn’t give her what she was looking for. Writing down the latest test results in her notebook she scratched her head with the blunt end of her pen. “Why would it do that?” she muttered to herself, staring at the slime mould in the petri dish as if it would answer her. She was poring over a large textbook an hour later when Carter found her. “Hi” she mumbled as he called her name for the second time.

“You reading Harry Potter again?” he teased, becoming concerned when she didn’t rise to the bait and continued reading. “Osgood!” he shouted a little louder, feeling embarrassed as she jumped.

“Josh” she looked surprised to see him. “Were you looking for me?”

“Not me, the Colonel needs you on a call, someone is trying to science him and he needs a boffin” Josh grinned as she grimaced at his description.

“Might as well, not doing any good here anyway” she muttered and followed him.

The Colonel had tried interrupting the team in Geneva several times before giving up, he looked up in relief as Osgood entered his office. Waving her in he put the call on mute “They seem to be getting very irate but I haven’t been able to figure out why yet”

Signaling that he should take the call off mute Osgood listened for a couple of minutes “What were the readings from Pharos II?” she asked suddenly, interrupting the flow of explanation. There was silence while the team in Geneva realised she was in the room. “Please tell me someone checked Pharos II?” she asked in a sharper tone, clearly expecting an answer this time.

“We’re checking now, ma’am” a disembodied voice admitted. 

“Send the readings to me, we’ll take the lead for now” she looked angry and the Colonel was glad he hadn’t been the cause of it. Several voices were raised at the other end of the phone “Clearly you don’t know what to look for, send the data to my team and we may be able to sort it out before Dr. Stewart finds out that you’ve been sitting on the report for 48 hours” 

Carter raised his eyebrows and caught the Colonel’s eye, he looked just as surprised. When Osgood closed down the call he waited for a second or two to see if she would tell them what was happening. “Is it something we need to worry about?” Carter finally asked.

“I hope not” Osgood took her glasses off and cleaned them “If Pharos II didn’t pick anything up then we’re looking at a European problem” she put them back on and sat back on the chair. “If it did get a ping then it could be anywhere on Earth”

“What could?” the Colonel asked, still none the wiser.

“It’s some kind of crustacean” Osgood could see that they were waiting for more information. “Not crabs or lobsters, more like a barnacle, sort of”

“You’ll let us know if we need to get involved?” the Colonel asked, clearly the brunette wasn’t trying to be obtuse but he didn’t want to waste any more time on the discussion.

“Of course sir” Osgood nodded and headed towards the door “I just hope we can figure out what’s happening without having to get Ms Stewart involved”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who could resist grumpy Osgood?


	3. Friday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A longer chapter this time, they seem to get through a lot more exposition on some days :)

Kate shook hands with another random stranger, thankful that she’d mastered the art of insincere smiling and meaningless platitudes after years of diplomacy and politics. To be fair, she reminded herself, she was more of a stranger in this group than anyone else. Glad to see that the last of the newcomers had passed her she went in search of a drink. “Two sparkling waters, please” she looked wistfully at the bottles of whisky sitting on the shelf but she still felt a little delicate after the amount she’d drunk the previous night. Taking both glasses she walked towards the small group of people gathered near the buffet table. “I got you some of the hard stuff” she leaned in close as she handed Liz one of the glasses.

“You always did know just what I needed” Liz winked at her and returned to talking to an older woman. “Aunt Mary, you remember Kate?” she decided that she’d heard the same story too many times and decided to throw Kate into the conversation as a sacrificial offering.

“Mary” Kate held the wrinkled hand in both of her own. “You’re looking well, can I get you another sherry?” she smiled as the woman nodded eagerly, drinking the remains of the sherry in her glass before handing it over to Kate. “Ladies, can I get anyone else a drink?” she politely took the order from all of the aunties and wandered back to the bar.

“You did that on purpose” Liz came up behind her, slipping her hand onto her hip and leaning on the bar beside her. 

“I was just being a dutiful……...whatever” she shrugged, looking down at the bar in embarrassment. “Besides, someone got me roaring drunk last night and I don’t really want to have to face the Spanish Inquisition from your aged relatives”

“I got you drunk?” Liz asked incredulously. “I seem to remember you loading the crate of wine into my car and insisting we needed to taste it”

“Me, never!” Kate blushed at the memory of the evening. They’d opened one bottle to toast the dearly departed and settled down to reminisce about parties and meals together. Before she’d realised what she was doing she’d been opening the third bottle and they were both having a good cry at the turn of events and the fact that it took a death before they managed to see each other.

“I hope that’s not all for you” Gordy raised one eyebrow as Kate accepted the third glass of sherry from the barman.

“I only drink sherry if the Prime Minister insists” Kate winked at him. “Take these over to the aunties, they’d rather coo over how handsome you are than see me anyway”

“Mum!” Gordy looked a bit worried at the prospect of the older women asking him about girlfriends for the next hour. 

“Go and find your brother, he can help you charm the old biddies” Liz suggested and he walked off with the tray of drinks in his hand.

“He looks so like you when he raises that eyebrow” Liz nudged Kate’s arm as they watched the young men hand out the drinks and settle down with the elderly relatives.

“Don’t know what you mean” Kate raised her eyebrow intentionally and was reminded how beautiful the redhead looked when she laughed. She used to spend a large proportion of her days trying to be the one making her laugh. She rested her hand on Liz’s waist, pulling her towards her slightly to let someone else order a drink. Kate could have stood here all day, this return to the ease of being around someone else was soothing her in places she hadn't known needed it. Part of her knew it could only be a temporary return to closeness, for many reasons, but she was willing to let it heal her for now. 

Osgood stood outside the door into the function room, still trying to figure out how she'd lost all three rounds of rock-paper-scissors. Taking a careful deep breath she smoothed the front of her shirt before pushing the door open and scanning the room. She stopped three steps into the room as she caught sight of Kate standing at the bar. It wasn't so much the fact that her boss was wearing a sleeveless black dress, although that would have been enough, but rather the attractive redhead who was wrapped in her arms. She could only have been staring for a few seconds before Kate suddenly looked up and caught her gaze. She swallowed nervously, knowing her blush was probably visible from space.

Liz knew immediately when Kate’s mood changed, she felt the barriers come down again and the removal of the blonde’s hand from her hip felt like a plaster being ripped off. “Kate, what’s wrong?” she leaned back to get a proper look at Kate but it was clear that her ‘work face’ had dropped into place so she looked over her shoulder. “Who’s that?” she asked as she saw the awkward younger woman who looked as if she was hoping the earth would swallow her up.

“Excuse me,” Kate said quietly and Liz noticed that even her walk was different, all of that tension and worry seemed to translate into a purpose that made it clear that nobody had better get in her way. “Osgood?” she nodded towards the doors the brunette had just come through and waited outside for her to follow. “What’s wrong?” she desperately missed pockets at a time like this.

“Sorry ma’am, we have a situation and the PM is insisting she talk to you” Osgood flexed her hands in a last-ditch attempt not to reach out to her boss.

Kate was about to answer when she heard the doors opening behind them and Liz came through. “I’m sorry, I need to….” she started to explain.

“Go, I know” Liz interrupted her, crossing her arms across her midriff. “I have your bags in my car, Gordy said he’d get them for you” 

“I really am sorry” Kate started to reach out and then thought better of it. She swallowed nervously and only realised that Osgood was still there when she heard the inhaler being used. “Sorry, Osgood, are you OK?”

The brunette nodded and pushed her glasses back up her nose. When she felt able to get a sentence out she coughed slightly and turned to the redhead “I’m sorry for your loss”

“Are you?” Liz looked confused and realised that this had sounded a little hostile when she heard Kate huff next to her. “Of course you are, I’m sorry, it’s been a long day, I didn’t catch your name” she held out her hand.

Osgood looked panicked but ingrained good manners meant she reached out and shook the proffered hand. “Osgood, I work with Dr. Stewart”

“Kate will be fine, Osgood” the blonde was really hoping that a memory wipe was on the cards for all of them as this was painfully awkward.

“Yes ma’am” Osgood replied on automatic pilot before blushing as Liz laughed.

“I bet she hates that even more” she winked and was surprised to see Kate blush. “I’m Liz….Lethbridge-Stewart” she hesitated before deciding that if Kate’s staff knew where to find her then they probably knew enough that this wasn’t much of a surprise. However, Osgood was surprised enough that she had no hope of hiding it. “I’m sorry, I thought…” she was looking at Kate now, she hadn’t meant to out her.

“It’s fine” Kate assured her before reaching out and resting her hand on Osgood’s forearm. “Breathe Os” she waited to make sure that the younger woman was alright. “Liz is my ex-wife, who for some inexplicable reason kept the name after the civil partnership was dissolved” she lifted an eyebrow at the redhead at the familiar complaint.

Liz smiled and shrugged “If your name was Liz Smith would you give up the classier option?” she turned as Gordy came through the front door. “All sorted?” she asked as he handed back her car keys.

“I handed the stuff over to a guy in uniform who asked where Osgood was” Gordy looked towards the younger woman. “I’m guessing it’s you” he held out his hand. “Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart” he smiled.

“Osgood” she shook his hand and licked her lips, this day was becoming more surreal with every passing minute. 

“You need to go, Mum?” Gordy turned to Kate and didn't wait for an answer. “It’s OK, Gran would have understood” he pulled her into a hug and held her there until he was sure she had collected herself enough to face her work colleague. “Right, I need to go and get some old ladies drunk” he kissed Kate on the cheek and headed back into the function room.

“Thanks for coming” Liz pulled Kate into a hug next, taking a second to enjoy how well their bodies fit together after all these years. “I’ll tell Dad you had to go back to work, he’ll understand”

“Tell him I’ll be up in the next few days, he owes me a drink or two out of that bottle I bought him for Christmas” Kate ran her thumbs across Liz’s cheeks, catching the tears and pulling her back in for another hug. “I really do have to go, I’ll call you when I get a chance”

“It was so good seeing you again” Liz sniffed and wiped her eyes with one of the many handkerchiefs she had in her pockets. “Let’s not wait for a funeral, yeah?”

Kate nodded, not trusting herself to say anything without crying again. Turning she walked towards the waiting car, trusting that the brunette was following her. She stopped a few steps before the car, signaling Josh that they would be a moment. “It was my mother-in-law’s funeral, I should have told you when I got the call” she turned and looked back towards the hotel. 

“You don’t need to explain ma’am, I’m sorry we couldn’t clear this one up without disturbing you” Osgood squinted in the late afternoon sunlight. “I did try, but the PM seemed worried” Osgood looked dejected. 

“The PM is always worried, it goes with the job” Kate sighed and ran her hands through her hair. “Let me grab a change of clothes and you can update me in the car” Kate walked to the boot of the car, pulling a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt from her bag before sliding into the back seat. “Colonel, Captain, where are we off to?” she asked as Osgood slid in the other side and closed the door.

“Southampton ma’am” the Colonel replied, turning in his seat as Carter drove them towards the exit from the car park. “I’m sorry we had to interrupt you today Kate,” he said quietly, it was difficult to have a personal conversation with two other people in the car.

“Couldn’t be helped” Kate kicked off her shoes before glancing out the windscreen “Are we heading for the A36?”

“Yes ma’am, I’ll get the blues and twos on when we get out of town” Carter glanced in the rearview mirror and made eye contact. “Sorry”

“Right, eyes front gentlemen” Kate started struggling into the jeans, trusting that Carter wouldn’t drive them into a ditch. As she pulled them higher she rucked the dress around her hips, wriggling until she could comfortably fasten the tight jeans. “Osgood, what’s the latest?” she needed to use the journey to get up to speed on the situation if the PM was expecting to be updated. Not getting any response she turned to see the brunette staring out of the side window of the car, her lips moving as she muttered something under her breath. “Osgood?” she tried a little louder and eventually reached out to touch her arm. “Are you alright?” she was getting worried as she noticed the younger woman breathing heavily and looking flustered.

Osgood took a couple of deeper breaths before settling herself, this was getting ridiculous. “Yes, sorry, miles away” she licked her dry lips. “We were sent some readings from Geneva yesterday along with reports from several Mediterranean ports of maintenance staff in dockyards going missing” she held onto the door handle as they took a corner at speed. Pulling on her seatbelt she continued “UNIT got involved when local authorities realised that a mysterious fog was reported just before the disappearances and that they were happening around the same time everywhere”

“Could you?” Kate indicated the zip at the back of her dress and waited for the brunette to pull it down. She didn’t notice the shaking hands as the brief brush of fingers on her skin caused goosebumps to burst out on her arms. Swallowing she tried to will them away “I just need to…” she started to shuffle again, pulling the dress up from her waist and over her head, narrowly avoiding hitting Osgood in the face with her elbow. “Right, that’s better” she pulled the sweatshirt down and fastened her own seatbelt. “Sorry, where were you, mist and disappearing engineers”

“Ma’am” Osgood blew out a breath, trying to gather her scattered wits. She was just glad that they hadn’t asked her to drive because she’d have driven them off the road several times already. “Local teams were dispatched and it seems that the engineers were all working on boats in dry dock and when we analysed samples we found crustacean-like creatures on the hulls”

“So unusual lobsters were causing the disappearances?” Kate asked.

“Not lobsters ma’am, not from Earth at all, it’s only surmise at the moment but it seems unlikely that a new species has suddenly arrived in multiple ports around the same sea and isn’t connected to the mist and missing men” Osgood suggested, this was where she was least confident. 

“So why is the PM having a panic about something in the Med?” Kate was failing to see why this was her problem today. 

“Royal Navy exercises in the Med this week, several ships returning to the UK over the next few days and the rest spreading out towards the Indian and Pacific Oceans” Colonel Shindi provided the missing link for her. “Can Carter and I open our eyes yet?” he asked and heard the snort behind him. “The Prime Minister wants to make sure we’re not spreading some kind of contagion” he turned round to face the back seat again.

“OK, let me speak to Downing Street and then I can have a look at the reports” Kate rummaged around the back seat to find her phone where she’d dropped it when she’d changed. Hitting a speed dial on it she ran her left hand through her hair, removing the last of the hairspray which had been a last-ditch attempt get her longer than usual hair under control. “Kate Stewart, UNIT, I believe the PM is expecting my call,” she said, all trace of the earlier emotion gone as she slipped back into planet-saver mode.

**********************************

Osgood cleaned her glasses as the blurry images appeared on the screen. “Ma’am, we’re getting the feed now”

Kate carried two mugs of coffee from the back of the room, the Navy had been keen to see that they were well looked after. “I’m glad I put my jeans and boots on,” she said, resting on the edge of a desk as the green and murky images slowly moved across the screen.

“The temperature has dropped about five degrees since the mist started forming” Osgood confirmed. “See, that cluster there?” she pointed at the screen and used the radio on the desk to ask the divers to get them a sample. “It does look like barnacles but the formation is wrong” she opened up a page on her laptop. “The rings of calcium are perfect on every one of them, almost as if you’d seen a picture of one perfect specimen and cloned all of the others to look the same”

“Are they clones?” Kate asked, sipping her coffee.

“We haven’t been able to analyse what passes for DNA to establish if they are or not” Osgood looked uncomfortable. “Sorry that we’re not further on with this, we lost a bit of time in the beginning”

“I’ll speak to the team in Geneva” Kate promised, she’d discuss what had happened with the brunette once they had sorted this out. “Where did they come from, and are we sure they’re only in the Med at the moment?”

“Ah, I have a theory about that” Osgood radioed the divers that they had all they needed and switched off the screen, turning to Kate now that everything wasn’t coloured a sickly green. “Remember that earthquake off the coast of Southern Italy a couple of years ago?”

“Not particularly” Kate shrugged, hiding a yawn as the events of the week started to catch up with her.

“It didn’t make the news really, it was only a few tremors felt along the coast here and here” she pointed to a map on her screen. “But when I checked the satellite temperature readings after the earthquake, well you can see what happened” she clicked with her mouse and a temperature gradient overlay showed the temperature steadily increasing in two places near the epicentre of the quake. 

“Thermal vents?” Kate asked leaning forwards and slipping her glasses down from her hair. “The quake weakened the crust and caused thermal vents to form” she confirmed and sat back again. “So why aren’t these super-evolved Earth barnacles?” she asked and shivered.

“Apart from the freezing mist that seems to be generated at this time of day whenever they are near to the surface,” Osgood blew into her hands, the temperature was dropping even more quickly. “The tests we have been able to run are conclusive, they didn’t originate on Earth”

Colonel Shindi opened the door to the office and stepped inside, quickly closing it to block out the mist that seemed to cling to everything it touched. “Visual confirmation from Carter, the mist is pulling back and dissipating” he poured himself a coffee.

“Divers are bringing the samples up now, is the area still quarantined?” Kate asked.

“Ma’am, we set up a perimeter as soon as the ship docked” Shindi confirmed. “Definitely alien?” he directed to Osgood.

“At least Geneva got that much right” Osgood grumbled and then realised she’d said it in front of her boss. “Sorry, I didn’t mean...” 

“It’s true though” Kate acknowledged. “I may have left that part out of the progress report to the PM but we’ll need to figure out what went wrong, we can’t keep being two days behind on this kind of thing”

“It won’t come as a surprise to Geneva” Shindi smiled into his mug. “They knew they were in trouble as soon as Miss Osgood here joined the call in my office”

“Just Osgood” Kate smiled and turned to the brunette. “Maybe we should both go to Geneva when this is over, I can threaten them with you for a change”

“I...em...I just sort of wondered what you’d have said if you’d been there” Osgood admitted shyly. 

Kate looked at the Colonel and he shrugged, admitting that it was pretty much what had happened. “Let’s get the samples secured and we can head back to London, the sooner we understand what’s going on the sooner we can settle everyone’s concerns”

“Ma’am” Shindi nodded and reached for his radio “Carter, bring the car around and get the secure transport ready” They listened to the crackly confirmation and the Colonel headed out to check on the arrangements.

********************************************

Kate rolled her shoulders before settling more comfortably into the driver’s seat. “OK?” she checked as Osgood fastened her seatbelt.

“The samples are secure and the police escort will pick us up at the entrance to the dockyard” Osgood loosened her jacket and settled down for the journey back to London. She heard Kate yawn, again, and pushed her glasses up her nose “I could drive if you’re too tired?” she offered, although she knew that Kate wouldn’t accept.

“I’ll be fine, once we get started” Kate assured her. “I enjoy driving fast and don’t get the chance very often” she winked at the brunette.

“It’s easier to get undressed when someone else is driving” Osgood grinned.

“Sorry about that” Kate looked embarrassed, “I didn’t even think to ask you if it was….”

“Of course ma’am” she assured her boss, the flippant remark wasn’t meant to trigger soul searching from the blonde.

Kate was going to continue the conversation before the radio beside her squawked and she moved off, following the Navy jeep that was escorting them off base. “At this time of night it should only take an hour” she waited for the base security team to process their exit and finally pulled out onto the road, letting the police outriders form up around their small convoy.

“Maybe quicker with the police bikes” Osgood stretched to grab her messenger bag from the floor. “I got a couple of chocolate bars from the machine” she showed the choices to Kate. “In case you need a sugar boost”

“I’m just glad I stuck to water and coffee at the funeral” Kate shook her head and sighed. “About that…” she stopped as they negotiated a roundabout and the slip road onto the motorway. “When you met Liz and Gordy earlier, I’m sorry it was awkward” she glanced for a second to see what effect her words were having.

“It’s none of my business ma’am, I just wish we hadn’t needed to intrude” Osgood assured her, vividly remembering the redhead in Kate’s arms when she’d first seen them.

“Still, we’re friends as well as work colleagues” Kate didn’t want to burden the younger woman but she also didn’t want to be secretive when there wasn’t a need, so much of her life involved keeping secrets.

Osgood concentrated on not holding onto the door handle, she really hated being driven at speed but she trusted Kate was a good driver and this wasn’t the first time she’d been driven behind two speeding motorbikes. “Thank you” she cleared her throat, “Gordy looks just like you” she admitted shyly.

“Apparently he’s inherited the disdainful eyebrow genes from me” Kate smiled. “He was thirteen years old when Liz and I met” she began, settling down further and keeping her eyes on the lane being cleared for her and the military transport behind them. “We were working at the same time at the University, she’s a law lecturer” Kate smiled, remembering their first few meals together before either admitted they were dating. “A couple of years later she suggested a civil partnership, it made sense from a legal standpoint”

Osgood turned to her side slightly so that she could watch the flash of emotions that accompanied the history, she didn’t think the ‘proposal’ sounded very romantic but she’d never been proposed to so wasn’t sure how it was supposed to sound. “This was before you were with UNIT?” she confirmed the timeline and stayed in less murky emotional waters.

“Yes, that happened a year or so later” Kate frowned. “Caused an almighty row, me suggesting I change my name to Stewart, neither Liz nor Gordy was impressed and they both refused” Kate sighed, she had slept on the sofa a few times over that week. “But Dad understood and had a chat with them both, at least they agreed that it made sense for me to change my name when I joined up”

“But you changed back again?” Osgood was confused.

“Ah, well that was after the Doctor outed me” Kate shook her head, that had been a surprise.

“He told people you were gay?” Osgood was scandalised.

“Good grief no,” Kate laughed and rested her hand briefly on Osgood’s arm. “That ship had sailed a long time before, no, he announced that I was a Lethbridge-Stewart in the middle of the control room at the Tower”

“During the cube invasion?” Osgood was trying to figure out dates in her head.

“Yes, and there didn’t seem much point in keeping it a secret any longer” Kate signaled to change lanes, she suspected another police car would be having a chat with the driver who was hogging the middle lane despite the two police bikes with flashing blue lights behind him. “But Liz and I had been separated for a couple of years by then”

“Sorry,” Osgood said quietly “You were together for quite a while though?”

“Twelve years, nearly thirteen” Kate sighed. “We’d probably still be together if I’d stayed teaching microbiology”

“Hardly” Osgood interrupted. “I mean we’d all be dead or Cybermen or something if you hadn’t joined UNIT”

“One person doesn’t make that much of a difference, I’m sure the planet would have found someone else if I’d put my family first” Kate wasn’t sure why she was disagreeing, she’d reconciled herself to the choices she’d made years before.

“You’re wrong, but I’m sorry it cost you your family” Osgood was clearly not prepared to accept the blonde’s argument.

“It didn’t, not really” Kate yawned and rolled her shoulders a couple of times. “I see the boys as often as they let me, apparently I cramp their style” she rolled her eyes.

“Gordy’s the older?” Osgood asked.

“Liz had Alex when she was younger, he’s three years younger than Gordy” Kate swallowed. “When we finally told our families about getting together at the beginning we were both worried about how the children would react but they were the most mature of all of them” she shook her head. “Gordy took Alex under his wing, became a protective big brother and it seemed to work for both of them” She blinked a few times to clear the welling tears.

“If this is too much we can talk about the weather or something” she offered and was relieved to hear Kate laugh.

“I should be apologising to you, I’m sure you didn’t expect all of this dumped on you tonight” Kate swiped her hand across her cheek to catch a couple of tears before returning her hand to the steering wheel, knuckles going white as she gripped it tightly. 

“Thank you for trusting me” the brunette smiled. 

“Of course I trust you,” Kate said softly. “Anyway, that’s about the whole story anyway, Liz called me the other day to say that her mother had died suddenly after a heart attack and you know the rest”

“She wants you back” Osgood offered and did reach out for the door handle as the car swerved before returning to the lane.

“Liz, no, we’re just good friends” Kate was confused. “What do you mean?”

“The way she looked at you earlier, and the way she looked at me” Osgood glanced at her watch. 

“Explain,” Kate asked, trusting that Osgood would know that she wasn’t offended, just needing the data to back up her claim.

“Maybe I’ve got it wrong” Osgood picked up the radio and confirmed to the Colonel that they were both OK, he had been worried seeing them swerve while driving behind them. “It was just my imagination” she stared straight ahead, trying to figure out why she’d said anything.

“Osgood, please” Kate rubbed her forehead, the headache had been building for the past hour and the flashing blue lights around them weren’t helping. “Liz and I broke up years ago when she found out about a covert operation we’d been running on an environmental group, turns out they were campaigning to stop drilling off the west coast of Scotland because they didn’t want anyone to find the hidden weapons cache they were trying to salvage” Kate furrowed her brow. “I don’t think you were with us but it took several months of undercover work from Sam to figure out who they were and where the weapons were located”

“Why would anyone be annoyed at that?” Osgood was confused.

“Well if you’re a law lecturer who’s specialised in the legal rights of grass-roots campaigners trying to fight against big business and an overreaching government patriarchy…...” Kate trailed off, shrugging her shoulders.

“Oh” Osgood could only imagine how that had gone down. “How did she find out?”

“It was ridiculous bad luck, Sam had been to the Tower and was leaving by one of the public entrances when one of the group’s legal advisors happened to be walking past with his friend from university, Liz” Kate still couldn’t believe her marriage had broken down as a result of such a fluke but she knew that it had only been a matter of time. “She recognised him but didn’t say anything, until she got home” Kate signaled to take the exit slip road to the M25, they were making good time. “Once we’d shut down the weapons dealers we also managed to get a marine protected status in the area, which had been the plan all along”

“It didn’t help?” Osgood guessed.

“Made it worse, apparently, although I never really understood why” Kate admitted. “Anyway, if we’d been OK it would just have been a bad argument but when we couldn’t get past it we realised that other things had been falling apart as well”

“I don’t need to….” Osgood lifted her hand to stop any further explanation.

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to give all of the gory details” Kate smiled to reassure the brunette. “That’s how I know we couldn’t get back together though, nothing’s changed”

“Maybe not for you?” Osgood suggested.

Kate shook her head, concentrating on a tricky interchange before returning to the conversation. “What did you mean, the way she looked at you?” she asked.

“When she introduced herself, it just felt like she was staking a claim, and her handshake was very……...firm” Osgood had been speaking more and more quietly, unsure how they’d managed to end up on this topic when it was the last thing she wanted to talk about.

“It’s been an emotional week for her, and today took a lot out of her as well” Kate swallowed.

“I’m sure that’s what it was, it’s not as if I’ve met her before to gauge how she’d react under normal circumstances” Osgood nodded in agreement, almost persuading herself as well as the blonde. “I just need to call the team, make sure they have the containment tank ready” she held up her phone and dialed her team while Kate drove almost on autopilot.


	4. Saturday

Several hours after getting back to the Tower Kate finally sank into her own bed, groaning as she managed to rest her aching back. She ran through deep breathing exercises, the only useful result of mandatory therapy after a particularly harrowing week at work, tensing and relaxing muscle groups as she slowly let the tension drain away. When the alarm rang four hours later she felt remarkably well rested, carefully stretching and opening her eyes to assess the damage. Pleasantly surprised at the lack of aches and pains she headed for her shower, the pulse setting helping to shift the last of her sleepiness. Thirty minutes later she sat at her kitchen table, pouring out a mug of strong tea and swiping through emails on her phone. She decided to catch up on some calls before she was due to be collected, it was likely she’d be in the lab and reassuring politicians for the rest of the day. “Liz” she sipped her tea as the familiar morning huskiness in the redhead’s voice provided some entertaining memories. “Did the boys look after you?”

“Of course, they ended up chauffeuring various aunties and cousins home” Liz smiled at the memory of Alex assuring her that he had valeted the car and would drive carefully. “Gordy stayed over last night, Alex had to get back for a meeting first thing”

“Good, I’m sorry I had to leave” Kate swallowed, remembering too many occasions when she’d said those words the day after another emergency.

“Kate, I understand” Liz reassured her, she really did understand that the blonde would rather have stayed with her and their family. “Everything OK?” she asked, the closest she ever got to prying into Kate’s world away from home.

“Yes, nothing to worry about” Kate gave the stock answer without even thinking about it. “We’ll be in the lab for the rest of the week trying to figure it out”

“We?” Liz asked, wrapping her dressing gown more tightly around herself as she sat at her kitchen table and tried not to disturb Gordy upstairs.

“Me, Osgood, the team” Kate replied, suddenly remembering Osgood’s suggestion during their drive home. “Osgood was the woman you met yesterday”

“I remember” Liz smiled, hearing a hint of defensiveness in the blonde’s tone. “I didn’t mean to drop you in it”

“It’s fine, I explained to her in the car on the way home” Kate sipped her tea again. 

“Still, I don’t want you to think I….” Liz began.

“Love, it’s fine,” Kate said quietly. “I told her about us, not sure why I hadn’t told her before”

“She’s a friend?” Liz detected genuine bewilderment in Kate, which was genuinely bewildering in itself. She wasn’t the kind of women to be perplexed all that often.

“Friend, work colleague, genius” Kate ticked off the many different ways that Osgood existed. 

Liz heard the smile in her voice and felt an unfamiliar pang of jealousy. Despite their break up many years before she had never had cause to think the blonde would be unfaithful. “More than a friend?” she asked, quite pleased that she managed to inject a hint of teasing to take the sting out of the query.

“Don’t you start” Kate sighed. “We’re friends, she’s not even gay and I’m her boss” Kate shook her head. “And anyway, even if that wasn’t the case, she’s twelve years younger than me”

“Right, because an older woman is never attractive to a younger one” Liz realised she’d hit a nerve if Kate had worked out their age difference. “Will you tell Cate Blanchett or shall I?”

“First of all, shut up, secondly if anyone is meeting Cate Blanchett it will be me” Kate laughed. “Honestly, we work together, we’ve been through a lot so I’d like to salvage a friendship”

“We were friends, still are, even when we were much more” Liz reminded her. “I’m not pushing you into anything but the way she looked at you yesterday when she first saw us together...” she remembered the look of shock on the younger woman’s face, even as Kate withdrew from their embrace.

“You know she said something similar” Kate leaned back, stretching her legs out under the table. “When we were talking on the way back to London”

“Similar?” Liz couldn’t figure out what Kate meant.

“Osgood said you wanted me back” Kate hadn’t meant to bring that up, certainly not over the phone, perhaps she was more tired than she realised.

“Perceptive woman” Liz held her breath for whatever reaction she’d get but when the silence lengthened she gave in first “I’ve wanted there to be an ‘us’ since five minutes after there wasn’t an ‘us’” she admitted.

“Liz” Kate breathed out the name, surprised at the admission.

“And I know it won’t happen” Liz interrupted her. “We were making each other miserable near the end, for lots of reasons, and I love you too much to risk that again” she swallowed, this was a lot of emotional baggage to unpack the day after her mother’s funeral. “I’m normally much better at hiding this, I guess everything was too raw yesterday”

“We should talk, when I can get away” Kate bit her lip. “I promise, a couple of days and…..”

“You know you can’t promise that,” Liz said quietly, not wanting to hurt the blonde but reminding her of all of the promises which had been broken through no fault of her own. “You’ll visit when you can and we’ll have a grown-up talk and then get roaring drunk again”

Kate laughed, wiping the tears in her eyes and hoping she didn’t sound like she had been crying. “I’ll order another crate of wine” she looked up as the door entry system announced her driver had arrived. “I need to go, I’ll call you later”

“Kate, you can promise me one thing” Liz closed her eyes, imagining the look of panic on the older woman’s face. “It’s not anything bad, just look at Osgood today, when you’re at work, look at her properly”

“Liz, please” Kate ran her hand through her hair. 

“OK, go save the world” Liz hung up the call on the old favourite phrase and sat staring at the phone. 

“Mum?” Gordy wandered into the kitchen ten minutes later, yawning and scrubbing his hands over his face. “Was that mum?” he nodded at the phone as he pulled down a mug and refilled Liz’s with lukewarm tea.

“Yes, she’s back home” Liz sipped, making a face at the bitterness. “What did you want to do today?” she asked, keen to move away from thoughts of her very-ex-wife.

“I thought we could help grampa sort through some of gran’s stuff, take it to the local charity shop” he yawned again. “After breakfast?” he asked hopefully.

“Some things never change” Liz smiled lovingly as she walked behind him, leaning down to kiss his head. “Thank you for helping out this week”

“No thanks required, we’re family” Gordy shrugged, not seeing Liz’s chin crumple as she turned away and busied herself with cooking breakfast.

**************************************

Osgood yawned again, that was the third time in as many minutes and she was in danger of cracking her jaw if it opened much wider. “Sorry ma’am” she rubbed her hand over her face before replacing her glasses.

“Why don’t you get me up to speed on where you are with the tests and I’ll take over for a few hours while you get some sleep?” Kate suggested tensing her jaw to stop the reflex yawn that was fighting to get out.

“I’ll be fine” Osgood tried to look stern but her efforts were undermined by another yawn. 

“Not a request” Kate stared at her until the brunette nodded and placed the folder on Kate’s desk. “So it looks like the ‘alien barnacles’.....” Kate peered at the younger woman over the top of her glasses, “That’s what we’re still calling them?” she shook her head at Osgood’s embarrassed shrug and returned to reading the report. “Have been found in large numbers around the thermal vents”

“They could be youngsters of something that is underground?” Osgood suggested.

“Could be, but every sample is exactly the same size and of the same complexity so there doesn’t seem to be any diversity or aging” Kate pointed out. “We have another twelve hours before the sequencing data comes back so I’ll concentrate on trying to trigger the response that caused the engineers to disappear” she looked to her side, at Osgood, to see if she agreed with her plan.

Osgood was so tired she could barely stand, she’d worked almost two days straight through, and so she concentrated on the question. “Usual protocols are in place in the lab but we don’t know what reaction we’ll get once we successfully trigger them so please be careful”

Kate blinked slowly, suddenly remembering Liz’s parting words on their call earlier. “I’ll make sure I keep Josh between them and me at all times” she smiled, uncomfortable at the intensity in Osgood’s gaze. She turned around to lean on the edge of her desk, facing Osgood who took a step back and stuffed her hands into her pockets. “I’ll be careful, I promise, I have carried out experiments in the lab before you know” she raised her eyebrow and smirked, unable to stop herself from reacting to the ‘more than friend’ vibe she was picking up.

“Sorry ma’am, of course you have, I didn’t mean to suggest….” she pulled out her inhaler and took a puff to give herself time to understand what had changed in the last minute. 

“I was teasing, go and get some sleep Os” Kate put her hand on the younger woman’s arm. “Get Josh to drive you home”

*************************************

“McGillop, are you ready?” Kate triple checked the instruments she had set up and glanced up as she didn’t get an answer, “McGillop?” she raised her voice and was rewarded with a head popping up from behind the armoured box they had built in the corner of the lab.

“Nearly there, ma’am” he ducked behind the box again, reappearing several minutes later as he wiped his hands. “Should be ready to go now”

“OK, let’s get everyone clear and start the countdown on my mark” she tapped in a command on the laptop and checked that the high-speed cameras linked to it were ready.

The last scientist left the room and Kate started the stopwatch around her neck. “Mark” she shouted and set the deadlock on the door, walking towards the adjacent room. 

“4...3...2...1!” she caught the last of the countdown as she got to the room and stared intently at the screen they had set up, waiting for a reaction. Glancing at the stopwatch she looked up again “Thirty seconds, increase the level” her eyes scanned across all of the monitors in front of her. 

Everyone in the room was surprised by the sudden appearance of a blue light and the equally sudden disappearance of the speakers behind the sheet metal. “Containment?” Kate was one of the first to recover.

“Intact ma’am” McGillop confirmed while trying to get his heart rate back down to a reasonable level. “Cameras all activated and the air quality sensors are reporting back data now”

“Good, send the results to the lecture room, we’ll convene there in 30 minutes” Kate stretched and walked towards her own office, needing some peace and quiet as the scientists all started to speculate on what they’d just seen. Picking up her phone she asked the switchboard to get a car sent for Osgood before dialing the brunette’s number. “Osgood, sorry it’s me” she dropped the stopwatch on her desk. “Mmm we got a reaction all right, there’s a car on its way, can you be ready to head back here in about 15 minutes?” she listened to the muttering and guessed that the younger woman had just fallen out of bed. “Containment is still intact, we won’t start without you” she promised and hung up to let the scientist collect herself. Leaning back she ran her hands through her hair and stared at the ceiling. The silence of her office was supposed to give her the time to think about the experiment and what the likely outcome of the results would be but, instead, she was left with images of Osgood in a baggy t-shirt looking crumpled and dopey after being woken by her call. Sighing she quickly typed a text and sent it, closing her eyes briefly to rest them from the long week. When her phone vibrated with a reply she counted to twenty before opening her eyes to read it “Dirty old woman!” she read it out loud indignantly, surprising the Colonel as he knocked on her office door.

“Kate?” he looked concerned when he realised that Kate was alone in her office. “Everything alright?”

“Yes, sorry” Kate ignored being caught out, sitting up straight in her chair she clasped her hands in front of her. “Were you looking for me?”

“Security picked up a spike in energy readings so I thought I’d check whether it was your team before we evacuated the Tower” he leaned on the back of a visitor’s chair, glad to see her relatively relaxed.

“That probably was us, yes” she nodded and glanced at her watch. “We managed to provoke a reaction, just waiting for Osgood to get back and then we were going to take a look at the footage if you wanted to join us?”

“I haven’t seen any of the other barnacle films so far, will I be able to follow it?” he grinned as she rolled her eyes at him.

******************************************

Osgood walked briskly down the corridor, aware of people congregated around the door of the lecture room. Squeezing past them she muttered ‘excuse me’ and ‘pardon me’ several times before she made it to the front where Kate and her team were standing. “Ma’am, sorry I’m late”

Kate turned and smiled at the slightly disheveled looking woman in front of her. “We wouldn’t have started without you” she winked. “OK everyone, settle down” she raised her voice just a little but the entire room stopped vibrating with discussions and movement, people finding a seat or sitting on the steps. “McGillop” Kate gestured to the laptop and smiled as he nervously realised that she wanted him to lead the session.

Several minutes later he had calmed down and was in his element, explaining the theory behind the final experiment “So after we found no response to stimuli from electricity, heat or light it was the obvious next step to try sound” he nodded. “When we increased the frequency to 500Hz there was a reaction as you can see here” he ran the video of the blue light disintegrating the speakers behind the metal plating.

Osgood blinked a couple of times before stepping forward and running the video in slow motion. “A small cluster of them started to glow just before they emitted the energy beam” she pointed at the paused screen. “Is it some kind of bioluminescence?” she wondered out loud.

Kate slouched in her chair and pulled her laptop closer to the edge of the table, typing in several search parameters as she kept an ear on the conversation carrying on around her. “Os?” she finally glanced up several minutes later. With her glasses on, she couldn’t be sure but it looked like Osgood was surprised to see her as if she’d forgotten she was in the room. “Come and have a look at this?” she asked gesturing at her laptop screen. 

Osgood left the others arguing over another still frame on the video and moved to the chair beside Kate. “Did you find something?” she asked, pushing her glasses up her nose as she leaned towards the laptop screen.

“It’s in the archive” Kate pointed at an old entry from their index system. “It’s not quite the same but not too dissimilar?” she asked, prepared to have the brunette disagree with her but fairly sure she wouldn’t.

“Let me see” Osgood lifted the laptop from in front of Kate and typed in a more detailed search for the particular file. Biting her lip gently she quickly scanned the old report, annoyed by the incomplete analysis carried out fifty years before. “You might be onto something” she nodded and looked up to see Kate smiling at her. Sitting back a little she remembered commandeering Kate’s laptop and blushed, “Sorry ma’am” she pushed the laptop back towards Kate.

“Oh no, you run with that while I go and update the Minister” Kate winked at her and pushed away from the table. “Don’t judge me on my taste in music” 

Osgood looked even more confused than she usually was when Kate unconsciously flirted with her. Looking back at the laptop she noticed another browser tab was open on Kate’s music library and risked a quick glance at the song currently paused. “Dusty Springfield” she whispered and grinned. Shaking herself she became aware of the noise in the room, “OK, I think Dr. Stewart found something interesting” she announced and everyone in the room waited for her to explain the latest theory.


	5. Sunday

“My team worked on the results and cross-referenced with some archived UNIT records” Kate explained. “It looks increasingly likely that we’re seeing an evolved species related to the unsuccessful invasion fifty years ago”

“Evolved?” the Minister fiddled with the pen in his right hand, itching to write down some notes to aid his memory but knowing that any he did write would be destroyed before they left the room.

“The invasion was stopped when the Zikak’s vessel was blown out of the sky” Kate’s years of diplomatic experience was the only thing stopping her from wincing as she explained how UNIT used to operate. “The majority of the wreckage was recovered but several pieces of the hull, with their rather unique armor plating, went missing”

“Someone else recovered them?” he could see where this was going.

“It looks that way” Kate acknowledged, glad that this particular civilian didn’t seem as prone to hysterics when she discussed her day job with him. “We’re still trying to figure out how that wreckage ended up in the Med, the vessel was shot down over the Himalayan Plateau, but it seems that the armour plating was activated by the thermal vents created by the most recent earthquakes in the area” She had always found this kind of exposition exhausting but knew it had to be done, particularly in light of their latest theory.

“I thought they were barnacles?” he looked momentarily confused. “Why would they need to evolve?”

“Not barnacles, just barnacle-like” Kate kept a straight face by sheer force of will. “Our latest working theory is that the armour plating was able to adapt for the exterior of whatever vessel it was applied to and when it was superheated by the mineral-rich water escaping from the vents it tried to find a new vessel to plate”

“So the barnacle thingies actually found a ship to attach themselves to?” he had dropped his pen by now, leaning forward on the table. As UNIT briefings went this was one of the more unusual.

“Yes” Kate smiled and saw him sit a little straighter in his chair, she must be giving off the ‘approving teacher’ vibe again. “They found some boats and when someone tried to remove them from the hull they were disintegrated”

“Because they wanted to protect whatever they attached themselves to” he nodded. “Can we adapt this for our own use?” he could already see the Navy jumping at the chance.

“I’m afraid not” Kate was fairly sure they could but she didn’t want to risk spreading the evolved creatures any further in the oceans. “They would colonise any ship they came across and would disintegrate any ship that tried to attack their host” she waited to see if he would get the point she was making. “Effectively you’d wipe out naval capability worldwide pretty much overnight since everyone would have the armour plating and nobody could attack it”

“Ah, I see your point” his knighthood suddenly seemed a little further away. “So what do you suggest?”

“We’re working on how the debris ended up in the Med and how we can recover any that may still be near the thermal vents” she sat a little straighter herself. “We haven’t found a way to remove it from the destroyer in Southampton without getting ourselves disintegrated, so we need to quarantine all of the ships we had in the Med in the last few weeks” she waited for the inevitable outburst and was even more impressed when it didn’t materialise.

“That will be a difficult sell to the PM but leave it with me” he nodded, already running through several different approaches he could take. “We weren’t the only country taking part in the naval exercises” he pointed out.

“I know, you’re being debriefed six hours ahead of the other nations” Kate was firm. “My colleagues will be having similar discussions with their host governments later this evening”

“Shouldn’t we leave that to the Foreign Office?” he asked and saw her mouth twitch in the barest hint of the smile she managed to curtail before it really got started. “Perhaps not” he acknowledged, smiling himself as he looked down at his pristine pad of paper.

“I need to get back to the Tower, you can contact me if you need any further information” Kate stood, waiting for him to stand as well. “Thank you for your time” she held out her hand.

“I thought my predecessor had been at the gin when he warned me about you” the young man smiled as he shook her hand. “Now I think he had the right idea”

“At least you didn’t cry” Kate smiled brightly at him, leaving him to work out who had reacted to a UNIT briefing like that and what on earth she’d told them to cause it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, you'll forgive the wee dig at our current Foreign Secretary :)


	6. Monday

“This is causing havoc with our budget” Kate sighed as she signed a requisition for another dozen high-grade speakers.

“Sorry ma’am” Osgood shrugged as she returned the piece of paper to her file. “We’re getting closer to the exact frequency that triggers the response” she tried to be positive.

“That would have been more useful two dozen speakers ago,” Kate said dryly, stretching and covering her mouth as she yawned. “Sorry”

“Good news from the archive team” Osgood sat down in the visitor’s chair on Kate’s wave of her hand. “They think they’ve found out who else was around when the Zikak vessel crashed in the Himalayas”

“Excellent, who do we need to invade to get our ship back?” Kate cheerfully sat back and crossed her legs.

“Israel” Osgood watched as the weariness returned full force to her boss. “Not really a prime armed invasion candidate” she admitted.

“You think?” Kate ran her hands over her face before taking a deep breath. “Alright, explain what we have”

“Turns out the IDF were on winter exercises in the valley when our teams were retrieving the debris” Osgood sat on the edge of the chair. “We didn’t have satellite coverage then but our aerial photographs of the scene before and after show a large force arriving and leaving before the next surveillance flight, about twelve hours later”

“So the Israelis had pieces of the hull with the armour plating fifty years ago, why did they wait until now to deploy it?” Kate was confused, an indicator of how tired she was. She’d slept for a few hours on the sofa in the break room but it had only been enough to take the edge off the exhaustion and leave her marginally less fuzzy around the edges.

“I don’t think they did, not intentionally anyway” Osgood pushed her glasses up her nose. “In the early 90s they had a series of failures in their space launch vehicle Shavit.” Kate frowned, racking her brain for anything she could remember from around that time but she had been much more interested in her studies and chasing a handsome young man at the time. Shaking her head she nodded for Osgood to continue her explanation. “Shavit was forced to launch to the West, avoiding Israel’s neighbours and the potential for unfortunate misunderstandings”

“You really are getting better at understatement” the blonde replied with a wry smile.

“Thank you” Osgood grinned. “One of the launch vehicles exploded very quickly after leaving the ground, the debris crashed into the Mediterranean just east of Malta” she waited for Kate to connect the dots.

“So your hypothesis is that the rocket they launched had some of the alien armour plating on it?” Kate finally made the connections that the brunette had laid out for her. “Why would they need armour plating on a launch vehicle?”

“Ah, the limits on their launch trajectory cost them about 30% of their payload capability so we think they may have been trying to compensate by adding extra thrust, which would in turn need….” Osgood had the excited smile of someone who only has one piece left to place in the 5000 piece jigsaw.

“Additional shielding for the heat accumulated during launch and re-entry” Kate nodded, smiling in response. “That’s brilliant”

“They did have some very capable rocket scientists at the time, even if most of them were involved in the original Jericho 2 ballistic missile programme that they modified for their launch vehicles” Osgood liked to give credit where it was due.

“I meant you” Kate stood abruptly, sticking her left hand in her trouser pocket as she paced the small floor space in her office. “Remind me to give you a raise when this is all over” she winked at the blushing woman.

“Well, we still need to figure out how to neutralise the evolved plating problem we have now” Osgood pointed out.

“I will bet you a very expensive bottle of your favourite tipple that the Israelis had an answer for the original armour, after all they got it from the debris onto their rocket in the first place” Kate turned to see Osgood looking confused. “You don’t agree?”

“Oh no, I do” the brunette nodded. “I’m just trying to work out how you get a very expensive IPA?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have this mostly finished so the rest will be posted over the next few days


	7. Tuesday

Liz shook hands with her clients, they were happy with the outcome and she left them with the team of barristers and stepped away to answer her phone. “Kate” she smiled and shrugged into her coat. “No I’m just leaving the court now, I’ll be there in 20 minutes” she waved at a passing taxi.

Kate sipped at her white wine, the seat at the back of the restaurant allowed her to scan the room and keep an eye on the door. She needed the alcohol after a fractious meeting at the MoD, they weren’t all that keen on putting pressure on Israel for a rocket project that had crashed fifty years before. Even after explaining patiently, for the third time, that they wouldn’t be sharing current technical specifications she had left only with a promise that discussions would take place with the ambassador in Tel Aviv and he would be in touch directly with Kate to advise on their next steps. She smiled as she remembered the look on the Minister’s face when she reminded him that the majority of the NATO Navies involved in the recent exercises were either in quarantined ports or on lockdown at sea and would remain there until this was resolved. He had gone a very interesting colour of pale green and she was sure that her name was being cursed in the corridors of Whitehall as she enjoyed her Chardonnay.

Osgood fell into bed, almost asleep before her head hit the pillow. She dragged the quilt around her and sighed as she closed her eyes. The last thought she would remember was Kate, beaming at the team as they tied down the final calculations on the frequency that triggered the offensive response. Kate had patted shoulders and shook hands, mentioning people’s families and pets and had ended by sending everyone home for twelve hours to sleep and kiss their dogs. Osgood had laughed along with the others and helped the teams close down experiments and labs before ushering them out of the building. “It seems strange to be leaving work at lunchtime on a Tuesday to go home to sleep” she’d confided as she’d walked beside Kate to the blonde’s office. 

“Liz!” Kate waved as the redhead walked into the restaurant, leaving her coat with the waiter and walking towards their table. She remembered the first time she’d watched this woman walk towards her and could remember the visceral reaction to seeing her in her court suit, the skirt long enough for propriety and the blouse fastened completely. “I’m assuming you won?” she leaned forward and kissed the cheek that was presented to her, smelling the shampoo she’d always loved.

“How did you know?” Liz thanked the waiter and took a grateful sip from her glass. “Good choice” she toasted Kate with her wine.

“You were doing the ‘winning team’ walk just then” Kate smirked and hid her grin behind her own glass. “You look beautiful, I always liked you in your suits”

“Pot, kettle” Liz swept her eyes over Kate’s black trouser suit and white shirt. “What are you doing out to play on a school day?” she knew she wouldn’t get any further if she continued to compliment the blonde, they’d had that disagreement too often.

“Ah, the problem is in the hands of the politicians for the moment” she sat back, crossing her legs and running the fingers of her right hand up and down the stem of her wine glass. 

“Ouch, I bet you hate that” Liz laughed and glanced at the menu beside her plate. “I’ll have the risotto” she ordered and the waiter disappeared on Kate’s nod of the same. “Have you been at work since Saturday?”

“Mm,” Kate hummed. “Interspersed with trips to Whitehall and an entertaining fast drive to Southampton and back” she smiled.

“Did they let you floor it on the M3?” Liz laughed as Kate blushed and grinned in response. “And I suppose someone will make sure the speed cameras are miraculously clear of any evidence” she shook her head.

“I was surrounded by police cars and outriders, I had to keep up with them” Kate tried an innocent look which clearly failed. “Never mind that, how are the boys?”

They talked about family and friends that they’d reconnected with at the funeral and the sadness that these reconciliations needed someone to die to facilitate them. Another bottle of wine was opened and desert was ordered when they turned to memories of Kate’s first meeting with her future mother-in-law. “I honestly had no idea how they’d react, I did warn you” Liz dabbed at her eyes with her napkin as she cried with laughter.

“It’s not often I’m stumped for words” Kate agreed. “Still, at least I kept my word and didn’t get you pregnant”

“Oh shut up” Liz managed between laughing. After a few minutes of drinking coffee and collecting themselves, she remembered something she hadn’t asked. “How did it go with Osgood?”

Kate looked up in surprise, she’d been watching the cream swirl in her coffee and just enjoying the quiet interlude. “Osgood?”

“Yes, about yeah tall” she held her hand out to her side “brunette with glasses and a massive crush on her boss” Liz was beginning to think that she’d broken the mood.

“She does not have a crush on me and we’re not at prep school for goodness sake” Kate frowned.

“She does and if we were I’d just get her to meet you behind the games hall” Liz sat back and crossed her legs, vain enough to enjoy the brief flicker of Kate’s eye landing on her thigh as the skirt rode higher.

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” Kate sighed.

“You know me better than anyone else, darling” Liz said softly. “And I know you, you don’t react like this unless someone is under your skin”

“Liz, please, there’s nothing I can do” Kate sipped her coffee, annoyed to see the cup shake a little.

“The great Kate Lethbridge-Stewart!” Liz leaned forward, placing her hand over Kate’s where it rested beside her saucer. “You can do whatever you want, how many times have you saved the world this year?”

“We don’t keep count” Kate hissed, glancing around in surprise that the restaurant was almost empty and it was dark outside. 

“I just want to see you happy, with someone who understands what you do, what you sacrifice” Liz leaned down to try to catch the blonde’s eyes. “I don’t think she has a crush on you, I think it’s much more serious than that”

“Please” Kate whispered.

“When have I ever been wrong about this Kate?” Liz sat back, giving her some space to collect herself. She finished her coffee and prepared her final argument, this was why she was in demand as an expert consultant in court cases, she knew her facts and could keep the most compelling evidence to the end when it would inflict the most damage on a wavering defendant. “Come on, Katie, what’s my success rate on this?” she waited for an answer.

Kate sighed, she knew that tone of voice and knew the argument was already lost before looking up to meet the twinkling green eyes. “99% and I hate you” she kept eye contact.

“No you don’t and my gaydar has a 100% success rate thank you very much” Liz pretended to huff in annoyance, glad that it seemed to be pulling Kate out of her funk.

“99” the blonde shook her head and handed her card to the waiter, waving off Liz’s attempt to reach for her own bag. She helped her on with her coat and gave her an arm as they walked out onto the dark street, looking for a taxi. “You’ve been right about every single woman you’ve identified except one” Kate flagged an empty taxi and handed Liz into the back of it, surprised when Liz reached out and kissed her slowly. 

“Who did I miss?” Liz asked, a mixture of confusion and pleasure running through her brain.

“Me” Kate grinned and shut the door, giving the driver the name of the train station that Liz needed to catch her train from. Shaking her head she pulled her phone from her pocket and checked in with the Tower.


	8. Wednesday

Osgood was practically bouncing on her toes as she speed walked to Kate’s office. “Ma’am?” she knocked on the door and pushed it open. “Are you OK?” she was concerned as Kate squinted at her and rubbed her forehead.

“Too much of my five-a-day in liquid form last night” Kate waved to the chair in front of her desk. “You look disgustingly chipper”

“I know what they used” Osgood clasped her hands in her lap, excitement vibrating through her.

“Come again?” she really shouldn’t have indulged in the whisky when she got home the previous night but she needed to sleep without remembering her ex-wife’s teasing words about the woman currently sitting in front of her.

“The Israelis, I know how they removed the armour plating” Osgood grinned.

“How on earth did you find out?” Kate asked and winced at how that sounded. “Not that I’m doubting you, if anyone was going to figure it out I knew it would be you”

“I didn’t” Osgood held up one hand to forestall any more questions. “I remembered an old friend of dad’s who married a woman whose brother worked for the Israelis during the second world war”

Kate blinked slowly, trying to map out the relationships Osgood had just run through. “Start again, slowly” she finally admitted defeat.

Osgood pulled a piece of paper towards her and quickly sketched out some names with arrows between them. “So this couple here, their son studied in London during the sixties as a chemist” she circled the name at the bottom of the drawing. “And he ended up working for the IDF in a minor capacity during the rocket development phase for the precursor to the Shavit launch system”

“And you googled him, got his phone number and asked him to divulge Israeli state secrets?” Kate frowned and managed to raise her eyebrow in disbelief at the same time, which caused an increase in her headache.

“Well I didn’t really need to google him, he gave me his contact details at the last reunion at Cambridge” Osgood shrugged, worried that she hadn’t explained something correctly if Kate was still looking bewildered. “Oh wait, I missed a bit” she pulled the paper towards herself again and hastily scribbled her own name beside the circled one with some hastily drawn spires between them. “He was my chemical physics lecturer in first year at Cambridge”

“I thought your PhD was from Oxford?” Kate found herself hung up on minor details but she had studied the brunette’s CV often and didn’t think she’d mixed up the Universities.

“It is, but I did my undergraduate degree at Cambridge before switching” Osgood blushed slightly, she didn’t like to boast that she’d attended both preeminent Universities and decided not to mention that she’d been headhunted by Oxford.

“Right, sorry, not the point” Kate finally caught up with the important part of Osgood’s scribbled diagram. “So you called your old lecturer, what did he tell you?”

“It’s a fluctuating beam of light from the infrared to the ultraviolet” Osgood stopped to see if Kate needed more detail.

“Did he give you the sequence?” Kate stood, taking off her jacket and waving Osgood ahead of her towards the lab.

“Yes, the team are setting up the lasers now” Osgood held open the door for Kate and watched her walk through, hands in pockets, all traces of her hangover gone with only the confident head scientist standing in front of the team. She cocked her head and looked again, as Kate bent over one of the lasers and discussed the setting with a technician. She could see the tension in the blonde’s shoulders and her messy hair where she’d run her fingers through it several times. Grabbing two bottles of water from the kitchen she walked back towards Kate, handing her a bottle and turning to answer some questions as she drank from her own.

*************************************************

The team stood in the observation room once again, looking at the sample at one end of the room on the other side of the specially toughened glass. “We could always get your professor in to help out and wipe his mind afterward?” Kate offered as they set up the ninth test. 

“If we get to fifteen unsuccessful tests maybe” Osgood stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth as she scribbled calculations on a piece of paper before handing over the final numbers to her colleague. “I’d rather not wipe the mind of one of the finest chemical physics experts in the country if it could be avoided” she shrugged apologetically.

“Fair enough” Kate crossed her arms and waited for the lasers to power up and fire the new sequence of different wavelengths of light. “Well look at that!” she watched in amazement several seconds later as the barnacle-like plating suddenly slid off the section of metal hull and clattered to the floor.

“Yes,” Osgood did a mini fist bump and then looked around nervously to make sure nobody had seen her. “Lockdown that sequence and let’s figure out how to scale it up so that we can clear the ships in dock” The team around her murmured in agreement.

“I’ll leave you to it, better let the MoD know that we’re almost there” Kate put her hand on Osgood’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “Well done” she leaned in to make sure Osgood knew that this praise was meant only for her.

“Ma’am” Osgood blushed furiously and nodded, staring at her shoes. She knew that the blonde had no idea what effect these little touches had on her but she was finding it increasingly difficult to hide her reactions. Taking a hit from her inhaler to centre herself she heard the door close behind her and clapped her hands. “Right, someone put the kettle on while we find out how big a laser we can build today”


	9. Thursday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up for any Josh Carter fans out there......he annoys me and I've written him as the dumb foil in this chapter so grit your teeth and push through if that bothers you :)

Kate stood at the side of the dock, hands in her trouser pockets as the wind whipped her jacket and coat behind her. “Lovely day for it” she smiled at the Colonel standing beside her. 

“Wish we had ice cream” Vikram smiled at her as they watched the water level drop remarkably quickly. 

“You don’t realise how big these things are until they’re out of the water” she looked over the edge of the dry dock as the naval frigate was left resting on the blocks. 

Vikram looked over the edge as well before touching his ear and listening to the message being relayed to him. “Ma’am” he nodded and left as she acknowledged him. “Carter, what’s happening?”

“The boffins are ready to start, can you and Kate put the goggles on?” the staticy voice asked and he managed to hide the sigh of annoyance. “Ms. Stewart” he walked back towards Kate and pulled his orange glasses from his pocket. “They’re ready to begin on your say so” he put the glasses on and watched Kate do the same, when she nodded at him he opened his comms line “Go ahead, Carter”

“Sir” the voice came back and within seconds they could make out a slow pulse of light from the stern of the ship. “It’s working sir, we’re gathering them as they fall off” Carter announced several minutes later.

They watched the pulsing lights move around the hull of the vessel for several more minutes before Kate turned to Vikram “It’s not exactly Jean-Michel Jarre, is it?” she smiled as he grinned in recognition, it was nice to have someone of similar age where she didn’t need to explain her obscure references.

*******************************************

Kate sat in the back seat of the car as she explained the positive outcome to the PM. Osgood stared out at the police bikes in front of them, thinking back to less than a week ago when they’d first made this journey. “Penny for your thoughts,” Josh asked softly, glancing in his rear view mirror to make sure that Kate wasn’t distracted by them talking.

“Oh just thinking back to the last time we did this” Osgood smoothed the front of her sweater before she laced her fingers together in her lap.

“At least you’ll get to sleep in your own bed tonight” he smiled and then looked confused as he thought about what he’d said. “I don’t mean you weren’t….”

“I know what you meant” she smiled at him. “I only ever sleep in my own bed, Josh,” she said quietly.

“Sorry” he hadn’t meant to start a discussion on this topic when their boss was in the same car.

“It’s not really a bad thing, is it?” Osgood asked, partly because she didn’t think it was and partly because she wanted to tease him a little.

“No, of course not” Josh had no idea how he’d got into this conversation and no idea how to get out of it.

“What’s not a bad thing?” Kate asked as she dropped her phone beside her and leaned between the seats.

“Osgood sleeping in her own bed” Josh answered and would have smacked himself in the head if he hadn’t been driving at speed.

Kate raised both eyebrows and stared at him before leaning further into the middle of the back seat so that she could see Osgood. “Os?”

“I think Josh meant that it would be nice to sleep in our own beds tonight, unlike we did last week” Os took pity on the soldier.

“Ah, I’m afraid not” Kate sighed and returned to sitting back in her seat. “PM has just confirmed that the Royal Navy has two floating dry docks that they can use to get rid of the alien armour plating from the hulls of the ships currently at sea” 

“So they need the lasers ready to take out with them” Osgood took her glasses off and rubbed her face with both hands. “The team at the Tower were assembling two more lasers when we left”

“And we need to coordinate the civilian response” Kate reminded them. “Sorry, you won’t be in your own bed tonight”

Osgood blushed profusely and avoided looking at either of her fellow passengers, she knew her reaction to Kate’s statement would have been obvious to both. “I don’t mind” she finally admitted quietly.

“I had an idea about the civilian thing” Carter could sense a change in the atmosphere inside the car and tried to move them onto a different topic. “The barnacles only attack if someone tries to remove them with power tools, yes?” he confirmed his understanding.

“It’s the low-frequency vibrations that trigger the defensive disintegration” Osgood nodded.

“So why don’t we ban power tools in boatyards?” he smiled, obviously thinking that he’d given them the answer they were looking for.

“What explanation do we give for wanting to ban power tools from engineering workshops?” Kate asked. “And how do we enforce it globally?”

“Ah well I thought we could be clever there” he glanced in the rearview mirror to see Kate watching him, her steady gaze back at him clearly indicated that she didn’t think he was being clever at all. “If we tie the deaths to some kind of electrical safety risk……” he faded out, it sounded less likely now that he’d said it out loud.

“You want to stop alien barnacles from disintegrating people by setting health and safety on them?” Kate clarified that she understood his idea and then bit the inside of her lip to stop herself from laughing.

Osgood was less successful and laughed out loud before covering her mouth with her hand and trying to pretend it had been a cough. “Sorry, dry air” she croaked out.

“I know, this is why I’m a soldier” he took their reactions with good grace, shrugging. 

“I think we’ll probably go with some kind of laser that we can deploy underwater, to begin with and shut down the source at the thermal vents” Osgood smiled and patted his arm. 

Kate was about to reassure him that she hadn’t been about to laugh at his suggestion when her phone rang and she glanced at the screen. “Everything OK?” she asked quietly.

“Yes, bad time?” Liz stretched her legs out under her desk.

“In the car, should be back in my office in an hour” Kate had caught a motorway sign just as she’d answered the call and knew roughly where they were.

“No rush” Liz assured her and hung up, familiar with the routine.

******************************************************

The small team of scientists grabbed their dinner of pizza slices from the boxes at the back of the room and Kate waited for them to settle down with coffees and piles of napkins. “The two teams took off twenty minutes ago from RNAS Yeovilton” she sipped from her bottle of water. “I think we need to concentrate on how to neutralise the colonies still in the Med and how to scale that up to the rest of the world’s oceans, we don’t know how long they’ve been seeking out new hosts”

Osgood held up a finger, indicating that she wanted to speak but a large chunk of pizza was taking priority. When she finally swallowed she quickly sipped water and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “The samples we’ve removed in the atmosphere still seem to be inert, we’re continuing to run tests but they look like dead barnacles”

“Norwegian Blues,” McGillop said wisely and most of the people in the room laughed. “We’ll take some of the samples from Southampton and start trying to wake them up” he offered and several people followed him out of the room.

“We need to figure out a way to recover the original samples from around the thermal vents, Donaldson can you liaise with Swordfish and sort out what additional shielding they’ll need to get close enough?” Kate waited for him to stand and leave the room, surrounded by the rest of the team and leaving only her and Osgood. 

“He’ll be smiling for a week” Osgood waved after Donaldson. 

“Good to know I still have it” Kate smirked and wiped her mouth before throwing the napkin and pizza crusts into the closest bin. “So it looks like we’re left to sort out the rest of the Ocean clear up”

“I have an idea but we’ll need to test the prototype, do you know anyone at Pinewood Studios?” Osgood asked, grinning when Kate picked up her phone and scrolled through her contacts. 

“What?” Kate asked as she glanced up, seeing the brunette smiling at her. “I’m assuming it’s the indoor tank you want, when do we need it?”

“As soon as we can and for about 24 hours” Osgood sipped her water as Kate dialled her phone and proceeded to charm and outright flirt with someone. She felt uncomfortable listening in and scrolled through emails on her own phone, trying to pretend that she wasn’t listening in to the discussion about previous occasions when Kate had met the person she was talking to. 

“Right, that’s us sorted” Kate dropped her phone in her jacket pocket. “It’s free until Sunday so if we can get up there tonight we can be fairly sure we’ll be uninterrupted until then” she frowned slightly as she saw Osgood looking unhappily at her phone. “Problem?”

“No” Osgood locked her phone, she hadn’t even noticed what she was looking at for the past few minutes. “I’ll need to organise some equipment, can we borrow some divers?”

“I’ll have an underwater crew meet us there” Kate nodded and stood, cocking her head slightly as she watched the younger woman stand slowly. “Are you sure everything’s OK?” she had no idea what had caused the sudden change in mood unless Osgood had read an email or seen something on her phone to upset her.

“Of course, I’ll get ready and phone you when we’re loaded” she tried a smile but knew it wasn’t sincere when Kate’s worried frown became more pronounced. Instead of trying to fake cheerfulness any further she turned and left for her lab.

*******************************************************

“Liz” Kate sighed as she sank into her desk chair, lifting and moving piles of paper until she found her reading glasses and dropped them in her pocket. “Sorry I didn’t call earlier, we’re just getting ready to head out again”

“It’s OK, I’m just grading papers so you’re a very welcome distraction” Liz stretched out her legs and moved some papers beside her on her sofa. “Everything OK?”

“Actually I wanted to ask you something” Kate stood and paced nervously. 

“Now?” Liz asked, surprised at how nervous Kate sounded and that she hadn’t actually asked anything after several seconds of silence.

“What, yes, now” Kate looked confused for a moment before settling on a course of action. “Do you really think that Osgood…...well…...that she”

“100% record Kate, never been wrong” Liz smiled at the sudden shyness.

“Liz, you thought I was straight right up until I kissed you” Kate reminded her of the one woman she’d not recognised with her allegedly perfect gaydar.

“You were straight until you kissed me” Liz laughed and started coughing. “Sorry” she spluttered a few seconds later. “You’re making that face again” she sipped some water as she pictured Kate’s eyebrow and no-nonsense glare. “And to answer your original question, yes, I think the way Osgood was looking at you isn’t the way employees usually look at their bosses. I also think that you’ve noticed lots of other occasions when it’s happened or we wouldn’t be having this conversation”

“Even so” Kate continued pacing. “I can’t do anything about it” she was about to continue the conversation when Osgood knocked on her open office door. “Right, I need to go, make sure you drink plenty of water to get rid of that cough” Kate smiled at the rude suggestion she heard just before the call was cut off. “Ready to go?” she asked and followed Osgood.


	10. Friday

“These movie people know how to cater well” Kate watched as Osgood carefully balanced two coffee cups with donuts on the lids.

“There’s a commissary just around the corner” Osgood smiled and glanced at the monitors in front of them. “Are they nearly ready?” They had been onsite for almost an hour and were nearly done with the setup of the test rig that Osgood needed to use. She had given herself a pep talk before they’d left the Tower, and during the drive to Pinewood Studios, and felt able to function while being in the same room as Kate.

“The divers are just getting out now, lasers in place and the targets have been moved” Kate licked her fingers after placing the donut on top of her notepad so that she could get to her coffee. She caught Osgood’s reaction in her peripheral vision and smiled at the slight blush that coloured her cheeks. 

“Ready for test four” Osgood cleared her throat and waited for the signal that the divers had all cleared the water tank before starting a sequence running on her laptop.

“Action” Kate said as she had the last three times they’d done this. “Sorry, I can’t resist” she admitted and bit into the donut as Osgood shook her head.

They both watched the screens for several minutes, Osgood’s software collecting the data from the various targets placed around the tank. “Increasing power to the laser” Osgood said quietly as she noted down the time of the change.

“That seems to have good coverage” Kate pointed to two of the graphs on the screen, showing the targets placed at various distances from the laser and what they were measuring as they received the light signals.

“Mmmm” Osgood nodded and tweaked a line of code on her laptop to slightly change the frequency of the lightwaves being created. “Ah now that’s better” she smiled and turned to see Kate’s reaction when the graphs all showed a marked increase in light of the correct frequency reaching them. She caught Kate unawares and the blonde was staring at her with what could only be described as a soppy smile on her face. Osgood blinked twice to make sure she wasn’t imagining it and her mouth automatically mirrored the smile. 

Kate took a deep breath and cursed her ex-wife, she was right again. “Well done,” she said softly and lifted her coffee cup to her lips to try to stop her smile becoming even more embarrassing.

“Team effort ma’am” Osgood licked her lips and looked down at her own coffee cup, flicking her eyes back up in time to see Kate’s looking directly at her. “Everything OK?” she asked gently.

“Better than” Kate didn’t try to hide her interest this time, she knew that Osgood had caught her watching her and couldn’t think of a reasonable excuse. Being honest with herself she didn’t even want to try, she’d been watching the brunette with less than supervisory motives for several months but had resigned herself to a one-sided infatuation. Liz pushing her into noticing Osgood’s feelings seemed to have made her less willing to hide her own any longer and now that the decision had been made she needed to figure out how to progress their relationship without damaging their work and friendship. “What’s your favourite movie?” she asked, surprising herself as well as Osgood.

“It changes all the time but…...Finding Nemo” Osgood laughed at the raised eyebrow. “Honestly, it is a great movie and not just because we’ve been all about the oceans for the last week”

“I’ve never seen it” Kate shrugged, not sure how she could turn an animated movie into a romantic night out.

“They’re showing it on a late screening next week, I can send you the details if you want?” Osgood sipped her coffee, glancing at the monitors before looking back at Kate.

“I’m not really a fan of going to the cinema by myself” Kate was hoping that Osgood didn’t hear the thud of the heavy hint landing between them.

“Well I was going to go myself actually, so if you wanted to…..” Osgood watched the smile grow from one side of Kate’s lips to light up her entire face. “Good” she nodded and knew she was blushing but didn’t really care. “At least if we can’t make it because of work we won’t have to make up an excuse”

“I hope we can make it though, it’ll be nice to do something outside of work” Kate licked her lips, suddenly dry from this much honesty.

“Maybe Liz would like to go as well?” Osgood was staring resolutely at the monitors, not actually seeing anything on them but unable to meet Kate’s eyes until she’d heard her answer.

“Why would she?” Kate played the last few minutes and days through her mind, desperately trying to find the point where she’d misread the situation this badly. “Unless you wanted to see her?”

“What, no!” Osgood panicked at the implication. “I definitely don’t want to go with anyone else, especially Liz”

“Well that’s alright then” Kate blew out a sigh of relief. She stared into space for several minutes, vaguely aware of Osgood occasionally typing in a command or changing the view on the monitors. Eventually, she couldn’t see any other way to remove the last few doubts “Os?” she asked quietly. “We’re talking about a date, yes?”

“Yes,” Osgood turned to look at her, focussed on the blonde and the frown lines across her forehead. “Is that alright?”

“More than” Kate nodded and picked up the remainder of her donut, biting into it and chewing quickly. 

“Alright then” Osgood smiled and collected the last few readings.


	11. Monday

Alex waited outside the public entrance to the Tower, hands stuffed in pockets and watching the world go by as he leaned against a wall. “Hello, you” he smiled and pulled the blonde into a hug, kissing her cheek lightly as she returned the embrace. “You look tired” he frowned as he held her at arm’s length.

“That’s because I am” Kate stepped back and turned towards a side door. “How are you?” she swiped her pass and held the door open for him, glancing around to automatically check who was in the vicinity.

“Fine, had lunch with mum and Gordy yesterday” he followed her through two more secure entry doors before they headed downstairs to her office. “And we picked gramps up from Uncle John’s in the afternoon”

“How is Phil, I spoke to him on the phone the other night?” Kate hung her raincoat up on the stand in the corner of her office and nodded as her assistant brought in coffees. “Thanks, anything I need to look at?” she asked and waved Alex to a visitor’s chair when she was assured that she had a lunch break for a change. 

“He’s doing alright, stiff upper lip and all that” the young man smiled and shrugged. “We’ve said he’s coming with us to the rugby next weekend whether he wants to or not”

“Quite right, he used to love rugby” Kate remembered many cold Saturdays and Sundays standing on the sidelines watching one or both boys on muddy playing fields. They talked about Alex’s job and how he was getting on in the architecture firm he’d joined a couple of months previously. After thirty minutes they were both laughing at an anecdote he was relating when alarms suddenly sounded and paper started printing out on an old telex machine behind her desk. “Stay here” she stood and quickly pulled her gun from her desk drawer. “I mean it” she met his eyes and saw him nod in agreement. Striding into the corridor she headed in the same direction as a few others, towards the labs. As she reached the door she looked up as Colonel Shindi ran towards her. “Any idea?” she asked and flicked off the safety on her gun as he shook his head and drew his own weapon. 

Vikram waited for his troops to get into position behind them and then nodded to Kate, following her through as she pushed open the door and scanned the room for any signs of what was causing the alarms. “Osgood?” he shouted and waved to the men behind him to move into their positions. “McGillop?”

“Over here” Kate shouted, putting the safety back on her gun and laying it beside the unconscious brunette on the floor. “Get the medical teams down here on the double and someone switch off those bloody alarms” she shouted, checking Osgood’s neck, breathing a huge sigh of relief as she felt a strong pulse. The sudden silence was as shocking as the alarms had been and she took a few seconds to get her hearing back to normal, looking up as several field medics moved to the other scientists who were lying around the room. “Vikram” she looked around for him as she gave the medic some space, stepping away from Osgood, keeping a close eye on the checks that the paramedic was carrying out. 

“Kate” he was beside her without her hearing him approach and he realised that her hearing was still affected. “No intruders looks like someone hit the panic button before they all collapsed” he raised his voice.

“Have security run through the CCTV footage, see if they can figure out what happened” she looked around her, relieved to see several of the scientists starting to come round. “I want an update as soon as we have anything and we’ll stay on lockdown until we know what happened”

“Ma’am” he nodded and moved off to direct people to where they needed to be.

“Alex” Kate remembered her son and double checked her gun safety was on before walking briskly back to her office. “Sorry” she apologised as soon as she walked through the door. “Looks like something happened in one of the labs, I’m afraid we’re in lockdown until it’s sorted out”

“I had the rest of the day off anyway” he shrugged. “Are you alright, you’re shaking” he looked worried. While he hadn’t been involved in any UNIT operations, it wasn’t the first time he’d been with her when work had intervened. However, he’d never seen her react like this before.

Kate looked down and saw her hands shaking, moving to her desk she put the gun back in her drawer before clenching and flexing her hands several times. “I’ll be fine” she assured him but could feel a rising sense of panic. “Sorry” she suddenly sat down at her desk and rested her head in her hands.

“Here, drink this” he offered her a glass of whisky and rested his hand on her shoulder as she sipped at it.

“Is everyone OK?” he asked and returned to sit across from her desk as he saw colour return to her face.

Kate nodded and finished the whisky in one gulp, grimacing at the sacrilege. “Medics are with them now but they seemed to be coming round when I left”

“I can stay out of the way if you need to go and be supermum” he offered and was relieved to see her smirk at him. 

“Nobody’s called me that in ages” she took a couple of deep breaths and rolled her head to release the tension in her neck. “Come in” she shouted as someone knocked on her door.

“Ma’am” Carter stepped into the office and stopped, not sure who the visitor was. 

“This is my son, Alex, what’s the situation?” she asked briskly.

“Air filtration system cleared the room of whatever caused the scientists to collapse” Carter looked down at his wrist, reading a message as it scrolled across his watch face. “No major injuries reported, and most of the team are awake and alright”

“Most?” Kate asked, not trusting her voice to ask anything else.

“A couple of the new intake are still unconscious but not in any immediate danger and Osgood is awake and being given oxygen” he kept this gaze steady, not putting any inflection in his voice to indicate that he was fairly sure that his boss had a personal interest in his favourite brainiac.

“You got all of that from your watch?” Alex asked and suddenly realised that he probably wasn’t supposed to be interrupting the adults at that point. “Sorry”

“It’s UNIT special issue, which means Osgood upgraded it” Carter smiled softly and lifted his wrist to show Alex the text scrolling across the screen.

“Very nice” Alex nodded and admired the design of the watch which had a much larger screen than he’d expected. Tilting his head he realised that the text was actually scrolling across the wristband as well as the watch face and several symbols were also being projected onto the soldier’s wrist and hand.

“Carter!” Kate warned. “Osgood?”

“Sorry ma’am” Carter returned his attention to his boss and pretended not to hear Alex’s murmured ‘sorry mum’. “Medics said she’s awake but the contaminant was taking a little longer to clear from her lungs and causing her some breathing difficulties”

“Take Alex to the mess hall then send me the air quality readings for the lab and surrounding areas” Kate stood. “Alex, I’m sorry, can you grab something to eat and I’ll come and get you when I can?”

“Of course” Alex nodded and waited for the soldier to precede him from the office. He hung back a little “I hope she’s OK” he said softly so that only Kate would hear.

She watched him disappear down the corridor before straightening her shoulders and taking another deep breath. “I’ll be in the infirmary,” she said to her assistant before striding away from her office.

**********************************************

McGillop sipped from the mug of tea and cleared his throat. “So the spores were suddenly ejected from the slime mould that the two new guys were working on, felled them like a good right hook” he grimaced at the memory of the sound of the two young men hitting the floor. “I got to the panic alarm just before Osgood and that’s the last thing I remember”

Kate ran her hand through her hair and the Irishman was too polite to point out that it looked like she’d been doing that a lot recently. “Where did the sample come from?” she needed to understand exactly what the contaminant was before she spoke to the doctors treating Osgood, she may be able to help guide their treatment options.

“I don’t really know, it was something Osgood was working on herself but hadn’t got very far with” he risked a deep breath and was relieved to discover his lungs weren’t protesting as much as ten minutes before. “She gave it to the new lads to give them some practice, I think, rather than expecting them to actually get any useful results”

“Dr. Stewart?” the doctor called her name from across the room.

Kate stood and rested her hand on McGillop’s arm “Thank you for triggering the alarm as quickly as you did”

“Ma’am” he nodded, understanding that she was glad that nobody had been seriously injured but also knowing that there was one scientist in whose well-being she was particularly invested.

“Dr. Windsor” Kate stood beside the bed of one of the younger scientists, smiling down at him as she waited for the doctor to report.

“Everyone is awake and there doesn’t seem to be any lasting damage” the doctor finished signing a form and returned the notes to the end of the bed. “I’m keeping Drs Andrews and Edwards overnight, they were closest and got the largest dose” he waved at the other bed which contained the other new scientist. “Just for observation” he assured her and walked over towards the only other occupied bed.

“Osgood” he smiled at the woman who was still wearing an oxygen mask and looking quite annoyed by the fact. He picked up her notes and checked the latest entries before glancing at the monitor she was attached to. “You’re doing well but I’d like to keep you in overnight as well” he didn’t wait for an answer and moved to replace the notes.

“No!” the one word was clearly stated before the oxygen mask was replaced and Osgood reached for her glasses. 

“Is there cause for concern?” Kate asked, her stomach clenching at what his answer could be and she wrapped her arms around her midriff.

“No!” Osgood said again, pulling the mask down to rest around her neck. “I’ll be fine, I can feel it easing off” she insisted.

“Your blood ox levels are still a bit low” Kate pointed out, not bothering to wait for the doctor to explain. “This might be the best place for you”

“I’ve been dealing with breathing problems since I was four” the brunette explained slowly, not taxing her breathing. “I’ll be OK at home”

Kate looked at the doctor and raised her eyebrow. “I could order you to stay,” the doctor said to Osgood and was met with a glare he’d never witnessed before. Taking a step back he cleared his throat, “Or Dr. Stewart could” he didn’t mind admitting that he was shifting the glare onto someone else deliberately. 

Osgood turned to look at Kate and the glare dissolved, her face showing tiredness and determination. “Please?” she asked quietly, looking directly at Kate and willing her to agree.

“Will she be alright on her own at home?” Kate asked the doctor without turning to look at him, not taking her eyes off Osgood’s. 

“I’d really rather she stayed here but if she’s insistent then she shouldn’t be on her own, no” the doctor watched the silent communication between the two scientists, finally understanding what the rumours had been referring to.

Osgood’s face fell as she resigned herself to a night in the infirmary, surrounded by noise and regular checks to remind her that she was vulnerable. “She won’t be on her own” Kate said softly and waited for the surprised look to turn into a shy smile before turning to the doctor. “Tell me what to look out for” she walked over to his desk, listening intently to his explanation.

***********************************************

“You don’t really need to stay” Osgood protested again as Kate locked her front door and followed her into her flat. “I mean I won’t tell Dr. Windsor if you wanted to head off now”

“I hope that’s the spores talking” Kate crossed her arms and leaned against the back of the sofa with one hip. “I promised him I’d keep an eye on you and I try not to break promises” she waited for Osgood to open her mouth to continue protesting before continuing. “You won’t win, you’re stuck with me tonight so let’s get the kettle on and decide what’s on TV”

Osgood’s shoulders slumped and she moved towards the kitchen, the blonde had clearly made her mind up and she had lots of experience in knowing that she wouldn’t be budged. “I’m sorry you missed having dinner with your son,” she said quietly while she laid out mugs and a plate for biscuits.

“Alex was too busy chatting up one of the new dogs” Kate frowned as she realised that didn’t sound correct. “She’s just been posted here from Geneva” that sounded a little better.

“Oh yeah, she’s nice, I had a chat with her last week” Osgood poured hot water into the teapot and pulled the milk from the fridge. She turned to ask Kate whether she wanted sugar to find her frowning. “What’s wrong?” she put the milk down and took a step towards the blonde.

“It’s nothing” Kate shook her head and lifted the plate of biscuits and two mugs into the living room, returning for the kettle and milk carton. “Say when” she waited for the brunette to sit on the sofa before pouring her tea, adding milk and pouring her own. “What did you want to watch?” she asked from the kitchen, replacing the milk in the fridge and taking a second to rest her forehead against the door. Finally, she took two slow, deep breaths and returned to the living room.

“Bringing Up Baby?” Osgood asked quietly, she had no idea what had caused Kate’s shift in mood and was replaying their conversation while idly flicking through tv channels.

“I haven’t seen it in years, do you mind?” Kate draped her jacket over the back of the chair and settled onto the sofa, staying at the end farthest from Osgood.

“No, it’s a good movie” Osgood assured her and settled back with her mug of tea. “Lisiane” she finally said, having worked out a hypothesis for Kate’s mood change.

“Sorry?” Kate asked, turning away from the tv screen to look at the younger woman in confusion.

“The new Troop officer that Alex was chatting up, she’s called Lisiane” Osgood watched the frown lines appear on Kate’s forehead again. “She’s nice, enjoying working in London”

“Good” Kate turned to watch the movie with prejudice. 

“It’s a pity, really” Osgood continued to muse, watching the tv as well but keeping an eye on Kate in her periphery.

“Mmmm?” Kate wasn’t really paying attention to either Katherine Hepburn or Osgood by this point, her brain replaying imagined scenes where the tall soldier whisked the young scientist off her feet.

“Yeah, her husband can’t transfer his job until next month” Osgood continued sipping her tea, knowing that eventually what she was saying would filter through whatever was on Kate’s mind. “But she’s set up their flat and made a few friends so she’s not too lonely”

“What?” Kate turned to stare at Osgood. 

“Her husband doesn’t arrive until next month” Osgood patiently explained, smiling behind her mug when she watched the relief wash over Kate’s face. “So I’m afraid Alex definitely got the wrong end of the stick there”

“That’s great” Kate grinned and then realised what she’d said. “I mean that’s a shame for Alex, obviously”

“I think his obliviousness might be learned behaviour” Osgood raised her eyebrow, waiting for Kate to make the connection.

“Don’t know what you mean” Kate grinned and settled back to watch Cary Grant staring in astonishment at a leopard.


	12. Tuesday

Kate held her hand in front of her mouth as she yawned again, leaning against the kitchen countertop with one sock-clad foot resting on top of the other. She looked down and wiggled her toes, the bright green Hulk socks had been borrowed after she’d pulled rank and insisted on sleeping on the sofa. “I can hardly stay with you to make sure you’re alright and then make you sleep on the sofa, can I?” she’d asked as Osgood had handed over the socks and a baggy sweatshirt while arguing one more time. 

“Morning” Osgood yawned as she entered the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and settling her glasses before looking at her guest. “Oh gosh,” she said, her internal monologue asking her if she was still six while she tried to move her eyes to look at anything but Kate’s long legs. Long legs that were naked from the top of the ridiculous socks at her ankles to halfway up her thighs where the sweatshirt ended. “Sorry” she finally gathered enough wits to turn around and stare at the fridge instead of the sleepy looking blonde goddess.

Kate looked down again, remembering that she’d left her trousers over the back of the chair in the living room, along with the rest of her clothes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d be awake yet” Kate poured the hot water into the teapot and pulled another mug from the cabinet. “How are you feeling this morning?” she decided to pretend that this was a perfectly normal situation and the sight of the brunette in her shorts and t-shirt wasn’t the most adorable thing she’d ever seen.

“I’m fine” Osgood could hear the squeak in her voice and cleared her throat. “You?” she concentrated on regulating her breathing, not wanting to exacerbate her lungs.

“I checked on you a couple of times during the night but I slept pretty well” Kate admitted quietly, stirring her tea and leaving Osgood’s mug within her reach. “Os?” she couldn’t stand the silence. “I should get dressed, we can go into the office together?” she sighed, this wasn’t how she’d imagined her first morning in Osgood’s kitchen going.

“Thank you” the younger woman finally managed to turn around, her eyes staying at head height. “For looking after me”

“Of course, what else could I do?” Kate asked simply before walking out to gather her clothes. “I’m just going to have a quick shower and get dressed” she disappeared into the bathroom.

Osgood sipped from her mug on autopilot, not aware of anything but the images playing in her mind. After a couple of minutes, she shook her head and threw the rest of her tea down the sink. “Enough,” she said out loud and moved towards her bedroom to gather her things for the day ahead.

***********************************************************************

Kate sat on the sofa, leaning back and stretching as she waited for the phone call to connect. “Liz?” she asked and took a deep breath. “Yes, I’m fine, did Alex call you?”

“He said there was some kind of accident in a lab” Liz walked through the corridors of the University, nodding at several students who smiled at her. “He said you were in shock afterward, what on earth happened?” Liz was concerned.

“It was a mild contaminant leak but the systems got it under control quickly and everyone was alright by the time we left last night” Kate closed her eyes, remembering her panic when she’d left Osgood in the hands of the medics. “Was Alex OK?”

“Yes, he’s fine, you know how he takes everything in his stride” Liz frowned a little, not sure where her son got that particular trait from but glad that he seemed unfazed by most of what had happened in his life to date. 

“I know, he was very understanding yesterday” Kate smiled at her memory of him pouring her a whisky. “He plied me with drink and then devoured a large lunch in the canteen by all accounts”

“I don’t think we’ll ever find something that puts him off his food” Liz laughed. “He said that he thought Osgood was hurt?” Liz wasn’t sure how else to bring up the question other than just asking it outright.

“She was unconscious for a few minutes and her asthma kicked in for a while but she’s alright this morning” Kate stared at the corridor leading to the bathroom, trying not to picture the brunette in the shower. 

“I hope she’s getting a few days off to recover?” Liz asked and dumped her bag on her desk, shrugging out of her raincoat as she kept hold of the phone.

“I would suggest it but there’s no point, she’d insist, so we’ll travel in together and I’ll keep an eye on her today” Kate didn’t even think of what she’d just given away.

Liz blinked and took the phone from her ear, staring at it before putting it back. “Did she stay with you last night?” she asked quietly, dropping down into her chair slightly more heavily than she’d intended.

Kate closed her eyes for several seconds, she really needed to stop calling her ex-wife this early in the morning because she clearly had no filters in place. “She wouldn’t stay in the infirmary so I stayed over at her place” she chewed her lip. “But I slept on the sofa, nothing happened”

“First of all I’m glad she’s alright, secondly I wouldn’t have expected you to do anything else and thirdly…” Liz paused, listening to the breathing on the other end of the phone. “.....why are you justifying this to me?” she finished quietly.

“I have no idea” Kate admitted, looking at the toe of her shoe as she crossed her legs. “I’m not very good at this sort of thing”

“Well that’s not news to me darling” Liz smiled and heard the huff of laughter from the blonde. “Just ask her out already and get to the fun stuff” she grinned. “From memory, I think you’re much better at that sort of thing”

“Liz!” Kate blushed and panicked as she heard the bathroom door open and the soft click of Osgood’s bedroom door as the brunette moved to get dressed. “You only say these things to embarrass me” Kate accused and listened to the laughter that considerably brightened her morning. “And we’re going to see a movie on Friday, aliens permitting” Kate needed to find some time today to sort out where the cinema was and what the movie was about, although the title was fairly self-explanatory.

“Oh well done, nice darkened cinema and plenty of opportunities for kissing and wandering hands” Liz relished making Kate squirm “What movie?”

“Finding Nemo” Kate closed her eyes and waited for the next level teasing to begin.

“I knew she was younger than you but……..” Liz didn’t want to tease too much, she could hear vulnerability in Kate’s voice and it had been a long time since the blonde had opened up like this.

“I know, I don’t really care about the movie, you know that” Kate glanced down the corridor again to see whether Osgood had emerged from her room. “We could be watching a 4 hour Lars Von Trier film and I’d be happy because I’m with her” she had moved to sit on the edge of the sofa, her hand in her hair and staring at the floor between her knees. “We both agreed it was definitely a date, so that’s a bonus”

“You asked her?” Liz pinched the bridge of her nose. “Scientists will be the death of us all”

“Put two scientists in an awkward situation and they’ll try to be as precise as possible, so yes, I asked” Kate smiled, not really understanding why Liz found this behaviour odd.

“At least tell me you’ve arranged dinner before or after the movie?” Liz tried to salvage Kate’s love life with the weary resignation of someone who doesn’t have very much chance of success.

“First thing I’ve got planned for this morning, once we get into the office” Kate assured her, glad that she actually had planned this in and didn’t have to lie.

“What’s the first thing…?” Osgood asked, wanting to get up to speed on where they were with the situation from the day before and what they could clear up today.

“Ah” Kate took the phone away from her ear and cupped it in her hand. “Just letting Liz know we’re both OK, Alex was worried after yesterday”

“Of course, is he alright?” Osgood had forgotten that the young man had been with Kate when the alarm was first sounded. On Kate’s nod, she looked at the phone still cupped in her hand. “I should let you finish your call and organise a car” she held up her own phone and moved to the kitchen to give Kate some privacy.

“Tell her” Liz had waited for the muffled scratchiness to reduce, knowing Kate was putting the phone back to her ear. “Just tell her you fancy her and would she like dinner, a movie and you on Friday night”

“I’m hanging up now,” Kate said without any inflection and matched her actions to her words. Taking her mug into the kitchen she quickly washed out the crockery and mugs they’d used, leaving them to drip dry.

“You can stay again” Osgood smiled as she turned back to see her kitchen looking a lot more pristine than she’d left it. She knew she was blushing, the implication behind her words was not deliberate but she stood by it.

“I’d like that” Kate replied, her hands automatically going into her trouser pockets to hide the shaking and clenching she was doing. “You’re really feeling well enough to go to work?” she made eye contact and waited for her answer.

“I’ve worked harder and felt a lot worse” Osgood shrugged. “It’s a day in my lab and that’s been decontaminated and will be cleaner than ever”

“I understand” Kate said and she did, she’d worked when she was less than 100% and while 99% of the population got to say ‘the world won’t collapse if you don’t go into work’ she was glad to be part of the 1% who knew that was a very real possibility.

“The car will be here in 10 minutes, he’d already set off” Osgood explained and moved to her laptop bag, making sure she had everything she needed.

Kate hovered, not caring if she was missing a cable or dongle, someone would find her one if it was really important or what was the point of being the boss? “So I was thinking” she tried to lean nonchalantly against the back of the sofa. “Friday night, are you still going to see the movie?”

“Oh yes, it looks wonderful on the big screen” Osgood slung her bag across her body, making sure the weight was evenly distributed and not affecting her ability to breathe. “But if you’ve changed your mind I’ll understand” she licked her lips.

“I was wondering where there was nearby where we could have something to eat before or after the movie?” Kate swallowed, annoyed that she was a 53 old woman who shouldn’t be making this look so difficult. “If you wanted to, of course?”

“Sounds lovely” Osgood beamed at her “I’ll send you the details and some recommendations for nice places, you can choose one and I’ll book it”

“I can book it Os” Kate protested.

“I’m a member of the Filmhouse, we have reciprocal deals with lots of local restaurants, I’ll do it” Osgood was firm, enjoying the freedom to speak to Kate this way when they weren’t at work. “Let me take charge of Friday night, you can have a night off” she offered.

Kate raised both eyebrows. The images of Osgood taking charge in her bedroom and then in the shower and then in the kitchen while they were both naked and not interested in sleeping, washing or cooking were sudden, vivid and overwhelming. “OK” she managed to say and was later surprised that she’d managed to even put two letters together correctly.

Osgood cocked her head to the side and watched Kate clearly become flustered and then stare off into the middle distance. She was clearly picturing something that she liked as the flush ran down from her neck to disappear into the hint of cleavage that she could see between the open buttons on the shirt. “Car’s here,” she said softly, not asking what Kate had been thinking but looking forward to asking on Friday night.

*************************************************

Osgood was greeted with lots of hugs and handshakes before she could get to her desk. “I’m fine, Dr. Windsor checked this morning when I got in and agreed that I’m able to manage things myself” she reassured McGillop. “How are things in here?” she waved at the lab.

“Air filtration worked exactly as designed and the deep clean was carried out overnight” McGillop perched on the end of her desk. “The slime mould and its spores have been put under a level three quarantine and we’re just about to go through the security camera footage with the new guys to work out whether they triggered the spores being ejected”

“Excellent, I’d be interested to see that too” she lifted her favourite mug and walked with McGillop to the larger room where the projector was set up to play the timestamped security feed.

************************************************

Kate sat at her desk looking through the various reports from departments on how well they managed the evacuation. Typing a couple of emails asking for clarification she ran out of steam and sat back, slowly twirling her glasses by one leg. “Come in” she murmured several minutes later when someone knocked on her door.

“Ma’am” the Colonel walked in and stood in front of her desk. When he didn’t receive an answer right away he relaxed and looked at her more closely “Kate?”

“Sorry Vikram, miles away, what can I do for you?” she dropped her glasses and sat up straight in her chair, trying to make her body posture drive her concentration.

“I’ve spoken to the Yeomen and they were ready to evacuate the public spaces as per policy, everyone was where they needed to be if we hadn’t called it off” Vikram was concerned for his friend, she looked troubled by something but he needed to get business out of the way first.

“Excellent news” Kate smiled and drummed the fingers of one hand on her desk. “Sounds like it was a good drill exercise, can we add it to the schedule?”

“Already done” Vikram smiled at her.

“Of course” she smiled. “Was there anything else?” she asked when he didn’t move towards the door.

“Not work related, no” he settled the weapon on his hip and stood a little straighter. 

“Spit it out,” she said to him with a smile to show that she was only teasing him.

“Once the barnacle incident is resolved…...do you think, I was wondering if you…” he ran out of steam. 

Kate was glad that something was taking her mind off of the extremely distracting brunette scientist so she sat back and smirked at him, not even trying to help him out of his predicament.

“I respectfully suggest you take a holiday once this is resolved” he saw her smile falter a little and kept talking. “You’ve just been a bit distracted, something’s on your mind,” he said softly. 

“It has been a strange couple of weeks, even by our standards” she admitted. 

“Not that I’m suggesting you can’t handle the pressure, but even supermums deserve a break every now and then” he grinned, glad that he’d delivered his message and hadn’t had anything thrown at him as a result.

“Alex?” Kate quirked an eyebrow. “I miss the days of being able to ground him” she sighed. “Actually I was thinking about taking a few days, once we’ve deployed the lasers and know they work”

“Good, maybe Osgood could take some time as well?” he risked the step he was least sure of and wasn’t surprised to see her expression hardening. “I know she’ll tell me she’s fine but I’m worried about her after yesterday” he held up his hand to forestall her interrupting him. “And I think you are probably the only one who can persuade her to take some holiday”

Kate frowned and cracked the knuckles on her right hand, swallowing nervously before making a decision. “Is everyone gossiping?” she asked wearily.

“Nobody would dare, we do still have dungeons here remember” he assured her. 

“Leave it with me” she nodded and he walked out of the office, resettling his holster and taking a deep breath in relief.

*****************************************************************

Osgood yawned and stretched, she’d been sitting in the same position for too long. Getting up she headed for the small kitchen. Once she’d switched the kettle on she settled against the sink and looked around the lab, surprised when most of the stations seemed empty. “You’re working late,” a voice said quietly in her ear and she jumped in surprise. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you” Kate had taken a step back when Osgood had reacted.

Osgood took a couple of steady breaths to make sure that she wasn’t about to start wheezing “Have you been practicing your ninja skills?” she turned to the blonde.

“In my defence, you weren’t paying attention” Kate grinned and lifted down a mug for herself. “Did you discover what triggered the release of the spores?” she asked as she made them both some tea.

Osgood watched Kate make her a perfect cup of tea and couldn’t ever remember telling her what she liked. It occurred to her that the blonde had been studying her and she wondered what else she’d picked up of her preferences. Shaking her head she disrupted that line of thought and turned to answer the question. “Mmm Dr. Andrews had just finished his lunch and spilled some very expensive French grain mustard on his shirt so he’d wet it to try to get the stain out” 

Kate waited for the punchline and handed the brunette her mug. “So the spores were caused by a laundry reaction?” she asked mildly.

“No” Osgood smiled, even when she was tired she appreciated her boss’s attempts at humour. “Combination of mustard seeds and water caused the mould to think its primary food sources were nearby and produce spores in an attempt to reproduce”

Kate worked her way through several questions about this behaviour before admitting to herself that she was too tired for analytical thought. “Tell him to wear a bib next time” she left it to Osgood to decide how she’d make sure it didn’t happen again. “I actually came down to see what progress you’d made on the laser installations”

“I was going to check on the fabrication plant after a cuppa” she held up her now full mug and headed back to her desk. 

Kate stood beside her and patted her pockets until she found her glasses. Leaning on the back of her chair she read the email over her shoulder. “Well that’s promising,” she said quietly and sat down in the chair beside Osgood’s desk. “Let’s get the team together in the morning and we can sort out a schedule for them to be deployed”

“Yes ma’am” Osgood replied absentmindedly, typing in a meeting invite and adding all of the relevant people.

Kate sat back and sipped her tea, watching the slight frown as Osgood moved some other meetings around to make sure that everyone could attend. “Do you have anything else you need to get done tonight?” she asked quietly.

“No I don’t think so, did you need me for something?” Osgood pushed her glasses up her nose and looked at Kate.

Kate smirked, she tried not to but it was clearly beyond even her legendary determination. “No, not really” she shrugged and tried to school her face into something that she hoped made it appear less obvious that she wanted to kiss the younger woman.

Osgood blinked twice and realised what she’d said and how Kate had reacted. “Yes, well, I don’t mind staying on if you need me to” she tried not to imagine snogging her boss.

Kate shook her head and sipped at her tea, watching Osgood as she did the same. They kept eye contact as they both ran through surprisingly similar imaginary scenarios in their head. “I um…..” Kate finally spoke, sounding loud in the silent lab. “I chose one of the restaurants you recommended, I emailed you the details” she smiled at the grin she received. “So is there anything I need to know before we see the movie?”

Osgood looked confused. “Like what?”

“I don’t know if its a sequel or something I suppose?” Kate liked research, it was one of the things she missed most about her job these days.

“It’s not, there’s nothing you need to prepare for except a gruesome bit at the start but you can cover your eyes and I’ll tell you when it’s done if you like” Osgood smirked.

Kate rolled her eyes “Dinner first then the movie?” 

“Sounds like a plan” the brunette nodded

“Excellent” Kate nodded as well, thinking that they probably looked like bobbleheads after a few seconds. “Right, if there’s nothing else I need to make sure you leave the building young lady” she stood and slowly straightened, her back was stiff after broken sleep on Osgood’s sofa the previous night.


	13. Thursday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With apologies to any HR professionals who are reading this :)

“Josh, are you getting a signal yet?” Osgood fiddled with the earpiece she was wearing as she concentrated on listening for his reply through the static.

“All green at this end” he reported.

“OK, Swordfish to remain in position until we’ve confirmed from here” she reminded him of the plan and nodded to two of her colleagues. All three of them started typing commands and scanned their screens for data being returned.

“At least you didn’t have to go down there yourselves” Colonel Shindi reminded Kate as they sat further down the conference table. 

“Nearly drowning after being chased by dinosaurs and homicidal Silurians was enough for me” Kate agreed with him and twirled her pen in her hand. “Although it is easier to be doing something rather than waiting for something to be done” she admitted.

“Wouldn’t it be repticidal?” he pondered, smiling to himself as Kate dropped the pen she’d been playing with.

“Derivation is more about the person who is being killed I believe, but I’ll ask the archivist to give you a full rundown if you wish?” she raised her eyebrow and waited for him to blink first.

“Alright, I give” he held up his hands and grinned.

“Ma’am?” Osgood raised her voice a little. “We’re getting confirmation from the mini-subs at various locations, the lasers are in position and firing as expected”

“Excellent work” Kate nodded and stood “Let’s monitor for the next couple of hours then we can get Swordfish back here”

“Ma’am” the Colonel stood as well and they both left the scientists sitting in the large room.

“Good work everyone” Osgood smiled at her colleagues and relayed her thanks to the team on the submarine as well. She monitored the data streaming back from the various installations for a few more minutes before closing her laptop. “Let’s get the tracking stations to set up their own feeds and we can hand everything over to them” she walked back towards her office, seeing Kate standing in a corridor talking to someone. She paused to watch her, the relaxed stance with one hand in her trouser pocket and the other helping her to make her point to the technician who had asked for her advice. Blowing out a breath Osgood continued her walk to her office while wondering how such a beautiful woman could see anything in her, let alone see enough to be romantically interested. Remembering earlier in the week, when Kate had made her a perfect cup of tea, she left her laptop on her docking station to charge and grabbed a notebook. “I’m just heading out for some fresh air,” she said as she passed McGillop, accepting his grunt as acknowledgment since he was peering down a microscope.

“If you get any more trouble just refer the Admiral to me” Kate advised the young technician and watched him walk off with more confidence than he’d had when he first interrupted her return to her office. “Did I miss anything?” she asked her assistant as she sat down behind her desk, thanking him for the coffee that was waiting for her. “I’ll call Geneva first, then Downing Street” she sipped from the steaming mug of coffee while she waited for him to get her Central Command. Thirty minutes later her coffee was cold and the beginnings of a headache warned her that she really shouldn’t have a refill. “Yes ma’am” she replied to the first question from the Prime Minister. “We’re deploying all of the defence systems this week, the Royal Navy and US Navy submarines have been most helpful” she listened to the older woman as she spoke to someone else at her end of the call. “We should have everything in place by the middle of next week and the threat should have been neutralised by the end of next month” Kate assured her and this seemed to settle the noises from the Downing Street meeting. “Of course, I’ll update you as we progress” she listened for the cues that she didn’t need to say much more, she had learned that the less said the better where politicians were concerned. “Thank you for your help, Prime Minister” she liked to give credit where it was due and was relieved that she hadn’t had to persuade the Americans to help out. Once the call was done she sat back in her chair, rubbing her neck to try to release some of the tension. 

Osgood stood on the roof of the Salt Tower and watched traffic flowing over the magnificent Tower Bridge. This was her favourite spot to disconnect from everything her life now entailed, no wifi or phone signals reached here and she could imagine what it had looked like when the bridge first opened 124 years before. At times like this, she envied Vastra and Jennie, living in a much simpler time. This melancholy only lasted until she remembered the appalling pollution in London in those days and having to live with Strax as your butler. She regularly read the reports that Jennie submitted for their archives and they were often laugh-out-loud funny, usually because of some misunderstanding between Strax and his employers. Sitting down and settling her back against the crumbling stone balustrade she opened her notebook. 

“Has anyone seen Osgood?” Kate asked in the lab, having already searched a few of the obvious places.

“Said she was going out for some fresh air” McGillop murmured before recognising the voice. He looked up and squinted, his eyes used to the microscope he’d been staring into for the past thirty minutes, but the door was swinging closed and there was nobody to apologise to. He quickly typed a text to Osgood, knowing she wouldn’t get it right away if she was in her usual haunt.

Thirty minutes after Kate had given up looking for the brunette she was almost paying attention to a call with some of her fellow country leads and Central Command. It seemed that the Spanish team was experiencing difficulties in recruiting new soldiers, their Military Emergency Unit was commandeering the brightest and best instead of allowing some to join UNIT. Glad of the mute button she yawned and stretched, her feet resting on a box of photocopier paper. Her hands rested behind her head and she concentrated on the advice coming from Geneva. She heard the tentative knock on her door and shouted for them to come in. Just as Osgood cleared the door she heard her name and waved the brunette to a seat as she explained the progress they’d made to date. “So our team has despatched mini-subs to collect the remaining armour from around the thermal vents and the laser devices will be deployed and removing armour from all of the major ports and channels by the end of the month” she winked at Osgood as she listened to various questions. “Thank you General, we will be looking into the delay but the team in London were able to pick up the slack in my absence”. She frowned as another comment was made. “I’ll make sure that my relatives schedule their funerals more appropriately in the future” her voice was steely and Osgood almost felt sorry for the person who had questioned Kate’s absence. 

Osgood swallowed and looked down at her hands, she was nervously worrying at a loose piece of skin. She looked at her hands, the skin dry after spending too much time in the air-conditioned lab. For a brief moment, she wondered if she had enough time to get a manicure before their date, frowning as she remembered that she’d never had a manicure in her life and realising it was a little presumptuous to worry about her nail care for a first date. That inevitably led to some graphic images of why she should worry and she was reaching for her inhaler when Kate called her name for the second time. “Yes!” she said, more loudly than she meant.

Kate watched the brunette trying to collect herself, whatever she was worried about had caused her to blush an alarming shade. “Water?” Kate asked as she retrieved a bottle for herself from the mini-fridge in the corner of her office. She passed over a bottle on Osgood’s nod and sipped her own as the brunette gulped down half of her bottle in one go. “You were looking for me?” Kate asked once the younger woman had recovered her equilibrium a little.

“You were looking for me” Osgood smiled and held up her phone, “McGillop said you’d popped into the lab earlier”

“Of course” Kate slipped her reading glasses on and rummaged on her desk to find a piece of paper. “Someday you’ll need to tell me where your secret hiding place is” she winked as she found what she was looking for and took off her glasses. “This is for you” she handed it to Osgood.

“Ma’am?” Osgood looked at the number written on the piece of paper which appeared to have been torn haphazardly from a larger pad.

“I told you, didn’t I?” Kate looked confused as well now. “I didn’t, I’m an idiot, sorry Osgood” Kate ran her hand through her hair. “I spoke to HR and they agreed that you’re due a promotion after the Geneva fiasco, so you’re now my official UNIT number 2 globally for Scientific Research” 

“Globally?” Osgood’s eyebrows were higher than Kate had ever seen them and she was sure she’d been around when Osgood was surprised a lot. “Your number 2?” she seemed to be repeating parts of the good news.

Kate grinned “It’s well deserved and we’ll announce it officially next week” Her face returned to a more serious expression for the next part, she wasn’t looking forward to explaining it any more than when it had been explained to her. “The paper shows your new salary and that needed to be pushed through today”

Osgood heard the nuance in Kate’s tone. “Why today?” she asked, then her brain caught up. “Wait, because its Thursday, right?”

Kate nodded “I’m sorry, I had to tell HR about a possible change in relationship status for us as you’re my direct report”

“And they still let you give me a pay rise?” Osgood looked uncomfortable.

“We’ve not embarked on our journey yet” Kate almost managed to stop the smirk until Osgood groaned and put her head in her hands. 

“You told Hannah the Hippy?” Osgood didn’t mind the older American woman who tried to marry military, civilian and bureaucratic rules across an ancient organisation and multiple countries. What she did mind was the new age nonsense that was regularly spouted, in particular, the inspirational quote posters that regularly appeared all over the offices and common spaces.

“She looked over the promotion and agreed it was absolutely the right thing to do, her only complaint was that I’d not done it sooner” Kate looked embarrassed. “And she suggested the new pay figure but that it should be signed off before we…..”

“Embarked on our journey” Osgood repeated the dreaded phrase. “If this is going to cause you a problem then I won’t accept it” she held up the piece of paper.

“You bloody well will accept it” Kate gave her her fiercest glare. “You deserve every penny and there’s nobody in UNIT would say otherwise” she kept eye contact until Osgood nodded gently. “However if this is going to make you uncomfortable then we should maybe wait a while before dinner and a movie?” she suggested.

Osgood swallowed and folded the piece of paper several times before putting it in her trouser pocket. When she looked back up she saw Kate frowning and looking worried. “I booked the table for 7, we can leave together”

Kate watched her, trying to see if there was any crack in the confidence she was giving off. “Sounds perfect” she smiled.


	14. Friday

The good news was that Friday was devoid of any and all alien incursions, aggression or visitations. The bad news was that Friday was therefore devoid of distractions for Kate as she tried to concentrate on catching up on paperwork and staff evaluations. Even a long walk in lieu of lunch didn’t help that much, although she did have a twenty-minute conversation with one of the groundskeepers at Tower Hill Gardens and came away with a furtive cutting that was currently wrapped in some damp paper towel on her desk. She googled the movie they were going to see and memorised some random facts that she could drop into the conversation if things got too awkward.

“Do you have a minute?” Colonel Shindi stood in her open doorway.

“Oh thank goodness, yes, please” Kate grinned at him.

He closed the door and walked to the visitor’s chair in front of her desk, sitting down and resting his ankle on his knee. “It’s either feast or famine these days” he smiled at her. “I was catching up on personnel performance reviews from three months ago”

Kate pretended to be shocked but she was just as behind and just as bad about prioritising the box-ticking between planetary invasions. “There’s only so many times I can reasonably shoot targets before the range Sergeant starts to worry” she admitted.

“I thought you only shot five rounds at a time?” he smiled at her and held up his hands in defence as she threw an empty plastic cup at him. “Actually I was hoping you’d decided whether you were going to take some holidays or not?”

Kate frowned briefly before sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms. “In theory, I could be off for a week during the middle of next month, why?”

“General Carver wants me in Madrid for a couple of weeks to help out the Spanish team with some recruitment issues” he shrugged. “I explained that I couldn’t be away if you were out as well so he asked me to check your plans”

“Ah” Kate relaxed again, shuffling her mouse to wake up her computer again and finding her reading glasses on top of the last folder she’d read through. “Let’s see” she muttered as she navigated to the calendar and scanned through meetings planned for the week she was talking about. “There’s nothing I can’t move that week so I can book the time off if that helps?”

“Please” he nodded and waited for her to finish typing. “Did you have any luck persuading Osgood to take some time off as well?” he asked, keeping his tone as light as he could.

Kate swallowed and squinted at him slightly before sitting back in her chair and sighing. “I’ll ask her tonight, we’re going out to dinner”

Shindi had spent years controlling his reactions to superiors so he was confident that the raised eyebrows he’d normally have been sporting right now weren’t actually showing on his face. “Good for you” he finally said and glanced at his watch. “It’s 15:00” he looked back up at her.

She glanced at her own watch before nodding. “Are we synchronising watches?” she smiled.

“If I had a quiet afternoon and a hot date I’d be asking my boss if I could knock off early to get ready” he licked his lip and shrugged.

“And this is why we never talk about my personal life” she rolled her eyes. “What did you mean, good for me?”

He straightened in his seat and ran his hand through his slightly longer than regulation hair. “Honestly?” he asked and waited for her nod. “I think we all need someone in our life to remind us of what we fight for when someone tries to take our planet or our city or our office” he gestured around them. “And I worried that my two favourite scientists were both lonely and too oblivious to know that they were perfect for each other” he finished in a bit of a rush and blushed slightly.

Kate stared at him for several seconds, blinking a little faster than usual to ensure she didn’t tear up. “Thank you” she swallowed and rested her hands on her desk. “Now if there’s nothing else I’ve just given myself permission to leave early” she winked at him.

*******************

Osgood manipulated the clumsy, oversized gloves inside the containment tank. “So we can trigger the mould into creating and ejecting spores by putting a food source nearby and providing enough humidity for them to flourish” she misted the mustard leaves and glanced at the two scientists who stood watching the tank earnestly. When the spores were explosively ejected, just as they had been at the start of the week, the two young men took reflexive steps back. “That’s why we have them in containment” she pulled her hands out of the gloves and smiled at them. “Now you need to collect the samples and carry out the tests we agreed” she watched as they conferred with their notes and discussed who was doing what.

Kate walked into the lab and waited for Osgood to finish what she was doing. “Professor” she grinned as Osgood finally noticed her. “A word if you have a moment?” she nodded her head towards Osgood’s office.

“Of course Dr. Stewart” Osgood said politely and checked that the two men were alright being left on their own for a few minutes. “How can I help?” she asked as she walked around her desk.

Kate glanced into the lab again before closing the door softly. When she turned back around she saw one eyebrow quirked at her in what must have been a replica of her signature expression. “It’s nothing serious” she assured her and watched as the smirk appeared along with the eyebrow quirk. “Or anything more fun either, I’m afraid” she admitted and watched as the surprisingly confident younger woman sat down behind her desk and gestured for Kate to take a seat as well. Kate sat and crossed her legs before taking a deep breath. “I’ve just spoken to Vikram and he needs to be in Madrid at the end of next month”

Osgood nodded and tried to pay attention to what Kate was saying rather than the distracting way her thin top was stretched across her shoulders as she sat back in the chair. “Do you need me to go with him?” she had waited for Kate to continue and asked when the silence had lengthened.

“No” Kate wasn’t sure how the next question would be received. “I was thinking of taking a week off in the middle of the month” she glanced down and flicked some lint off her trouser leg.

“OK” Osgood frowned, not sure why she was being given the senior staff schedules in this way.

“And he was wondering, well I was” Kate wrinkled her nose. “We both were, I suppose” she waved her right hand in a vague gesture. “Would you like to take the same week off as me?” she finally made eye contact again.

Osgood blinked five times, she counted, before licking her lips. “Holiday together?”

“Time off together” Kate shook her head. “I don’t want to be presumptuous, we haven’t even had our first date yet, but it might be good to spend some non-work time together?” Kate was less sure of the idea with every passing second. “I mean only if you want to, you could do something yourself or with friends or family” Kate shrugged.

Osgood took pity on her “Wait” she held up one hand, stalling Kate’s wheel-spin of platitudes. “I would love to spend a week with you whether we stay in London or maybe even go to Edinburgh or Cardiff” she smiled.

Kate could hear her own heartbeat briefly and she would have sworn that it sped up as she fell for this woman a little more. “Perfect” she smiled as well and they stared at each other for a few more seconds before she pulled herself together. “Right, I emailed you the dates of my holiday request, you should put your own in when you get a minute” she stood and crossed her arms over her stomach to stop herself reaching out. “I’m going to head home, to get ready for tonight” she blushed a little.

“Get ready?” Osgood asked in a panic, she hadn’t expected this to be a ‘getting ready’ kind of thing.

“Honestly, Vikram said I should go home before I spooked any more of the staff by randomly smiling for no apparent reason” she shrugged, remembering his laughter as he walked away from her down the corridor. “I’ll bring the car in later to collect you and we can drive over together?”

“If you’re sure?” Osgood checked her watch.

“Unless you want to bunk off as well and I can pick you up from your place?” Kate laughed as the suggestion made the brunette blink in surprise. “I’m sure McGillop can supervisor the Chuckle Brothers” she nodded towards the two young men that Osgood had been working with.

***************************************

“It just feels wrong somehow,” Osgood said for the third time.

“We’re having a coffee and pretending we’re just normal people” Kate sipped her coffee. “How is that wrong?”

Osgood stirred her latte, blending the layers together until she ended up with a milky coffee. “It’s only 4 on a Friday afternoon” she sat back and frowned. “I feel like I should have a note from my mum”

“You want to be excused from games?” Kate smirked and sipped her coffee as the brunette blushed and smiled. “Since I’m technically still your boss until 5 we can pretend this is a research field trip if that would help?”

“What happens at 5.01?” Osgood asked.

“You stop being my scientific advisor and become a very attractive woman I’m trying to flirt with before dinner and a movie,” Kate said matter-of-factly.

Osgood stared at the blonde, tilting her head slightly to the right. Several seconds later she leaned forward and put her coffee down, unfastening her watch and slipping it carefully into her trouser pocket. Lifting her coffee again she sat back, holding the mug in both hands and staring at Kate over the rim. “Do you come here often?” she grinned.

“More often now that you’re here” Kate replied, slipping her own watch off and dropping it in her jacket pocket. “You have a beautiful smile,” she said quietly.

“You should see my sister” Osgood rolled her eyes and was about to continue when she realised Kate was coughing. “Are you OK?” she asked, passing over several paper napkins.

“Down the wrong way” Kate croaked as she used the napkins to mop up some of her spilled coffee from the table. Coughing once more she cleared her throat and smiled at the waiter who placed a glass of water in front of her. “Thank you” she sipped at the glass and waited for them to be alone again. “Your sister?” she asked.

“She’s the pretty one” Osgood blushed a little, resting her forearms on the table and avoiding Kate’s gaze.

“Os?” Kate reached out, capturing one of the brunette’s hands and stroking her thumb across the back of her fingers. “There isn’t anyone on the planet I’d rather be sitting here with, you know that?”

Osgood licked her lower lip nervously before looking up. She saw the blonde frowning slightly and knew that she would spend the rest of the night, week, month…..whatever it took, to make the frown lines disappear. “I know, I’m just not very good at this bit” she admitted quietly.

Kate blew out a breath surreptitiously, she had been worried for a few seconds. “What bit are you good at?” she chuckled as Osgood squeezed her hand. “It’s just me, just us, there’s nothing to be nervous or self-conscious about” she tried to reassure the younger woman, not noticing the irony in her own nerves not being settled.

“I know” Osgood ran her index finger along the edge of Kate’s thumbnail. “I’m not nervous because it’s a date so much as because it’s with you……...finally” she blushed.

“Finally?” Kate asked softly, her eyes crinkling a little as she tried to figure out what the brunette was saying.

“I’ve wanted to ‘have coffee’ with you for a long time” she shrugged. “Most of the science teams and at least half of the soldiers would give their right arms to be sitting where I am right now”

“Only half?” Kate tried to fake being disappointed. “I must be losing my touch”

“Smart, beautiful and funny” Osgood smiled up at her, absentmindedly tangling their fingers together. “So is this a recent thing for you?” she tried to get the conversation back under control again.

Kate was about to make a joke about drinking coffee for years when she noticed the seriousness in the eyes looking at her. Wetting her lips she caught the slight flicker as they tracked the movement. “I had no idea you might be interested in me or even women in general until very recently,” she said. “Liz pointed out that perhaps you were after she met you at the funeral”

“We’ve worked together for years and you didn’t notice, but your ex-wife spotted it in a one-minute meeting?” Osgood asked in surprise.

“You figured out that she wanted me back in the same one minute” Kate pointed out and then really wished she hadn’t.

“She does?” Osgood sat back and blinked.

“She knows it will never happen, for lots of reasons, not least of which is that I’d much rather be holding hands with you” Kate tried to charm her way out of it.

“So you won’t…….” she wasn’t sure what she was asking but ran out of words.

“She’s a very dear friend, knows me better than just about anyone in my life, but we’ll never be any more than that to each other” Kate risked holding her hand again.

Osgood stared at her for a few moments before nodding, as if accepting what had been said at face value. “So what did she say about me?” she was curious.

“Well,” Kate blushed and smiled. “Essentially she thought you were harbouring feelings for me that weren’t strictly platonic”

“How on earth?” Osgood was bewildered, they’d barely exchanged two sentences.

“Liz has always claimed to have an infallible gaydar” Kate shrugged to indicate her opinion. 

“It would seem so……” Osgood looked into the middle distance. “Actually I wonder if that’s something you could test in a lab?” she cocked her head in thought until Kate started laughing. “What?”

“Nothing” the blonde chuckled. “You’re unique and I’m happy we managed to get here no matter who made it possible”

Osgood smiled and looked around at the cafe as it started to fill up. Glancing at the clock behind the counter she had an idea. “It’s getting a bit noisy, did you want to go for a drink somewhere before dinner?”

“That would be lovely” Kate noticed the rising hubbub of voices as people filtered in after their work. “Would you mind if we stopped off at my place first, I wanted to change out of this” she indicated her trouser suit and watched in interest as Osgood’s eyes traced her from head to toe. She licked her lips again, studiously avoiding the brunette’s eyes as they no doubt tracked that movement too. They both stood and headed for the door.

***********************************************************

“There’s a bottle of wine in the fridge, can you pour a couple of glasses while I get changed?” Kate asked as she headed for her bedroom. Closing the door she leaned against it briefly, not sure how she’d managed to drive with the brunette watching her the entire time. “Come on, pull yourself together” she murmured and dumped her coat and jacket over the chair in the corner of the bedroom. Unfastening her trousers she stepped out of them as she pulled her top over her head. Passing by the full-length mirror she stopped briefly to cast a glance over her pale, skinny figure, shaking her head at the fleeting thought that she should put the discarded clothes away in case she had company later.

Osgood returned the wine bottle to the fridge, carrying both glasses to the living room and putting Kate’s down on a coaster. She wandered over to the bookcase and looked at the photographs arranged on top of it. Several were of the Brigadier in his heyday and she recognised him as the older man in the family shot that also contained Liz and Gordy and another young boy who must be Alex. Osgood lifted the frame and angled it towards the large window, looking at Kate who had one arm around her father’s shoulder and the other around Liz’s waist. They all looked a little sunburnt and someone had obviously made them all laugh just before the photograph had been taken.

“That was Rhyll,” Kate said softly as she peered over Osgood’s shoulder. “Beautiful beaches and the kids loved spending summers there if the weather was half decent”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry” she handed the frame to Kate and took a pace back before stopping. “Wow” she looked at Kate’s skirt and sleeveless blouse. “You look…...” she cycled through lots of different descriptors before giving up, trusting that the blonde would appreciate that her lack of words was a compliment in itself.

“Thank you” Kate smiled and put the photograph back on the bookcase. “And you weren’t prying” she assured her. “People never really die if they are remembered by others so I’m happy to talk about Dad, especially when it's not work-related”

“I don’t want to talk about your dad,” Osgood said hoarsely and took a step forward. “I don’t want to talk at all” she murmured as she put her glass down beside Kate’s and rested her hands on Kate’s elbows. She ran her hands up to the blonde’s shoulders before stroking back down until she was holding her hands. “Is this alright?” she whispered, not wanting to break the spell.

“More than” Kate closed the remaining distance and hesitated for a second before lightly kissing her. She felt Osgood’s hands rest on her hips and smiled at the dreamy look on her face “OK?”

Osgood nodded, not trusting her ability to form words by this point. She pulled gently on Kate’s hips to meld their bodies together before lacing her right hand through the hair at the back of her head, clasping it lightly and kissing her briefly before a slight touch with her tongue caused Kate to open her mouth. She groaned as they kissed properly, Kate’s head tilted to her right and her hands on Osgood’s back, holding them tightly together. The sounds that Kate was making should have been illegal, although Osgood’s inner monologue admitted that some of the moans may have come from herself. Slowing the pace a little she placed a few last kisses on the ridiculously soft lips, swiping the bottom lip with her tongue before leaning back. “You’re….” she had been about to make a cogent point about the state of their relationship but it was lost as soon as Kate bit her own lip and slowly opened her eyes.

“I had no idea” Kate mused, rolling her head against the hand that still held her hair in a loose fist. “Again” she rocked forward to carry on where they’d left off but frowned slightly as Osgood leaned further away, although she kept their hips tight against each other. “Os?”

“I need a minute” the younger woman breathed steadily. “No” she gripped Kate’s hip tighter to prevent the blonde’s movement away from her. “I don’t mean we need to stop, just, wow” she smiled and shrugged. “Unless you want to stop?” she loosened her hold and withdrew her hand from the blonde’s hair.

“No wonder it’s taken this long” Kate shook her head and caught Osgood’s right hand, kissing the palm and nuzzling with her nose when the hand twitched. “I absolutely do not want to stop” Kate started and leaned in for a brief kiss on the parted lips. “However, you’re right, wow” she dropped the brunette’s hand and wrapped both of hers around the brunette’s waist. “And we should head out for dinner…” Kate was prepared to let herself be talked out of leaving the flat.

“We should?” Osgood hadn’t meant to sound so uncertain. “I mean, we should” she nodded but didn’t make a move.

“We have a little time” Kate hedged and saw the twinkle in the dark brown eyes, deciding there and then that twinkling brown eyes were her new favourite thing.

“And it would be a shame to waste the wine” Osgood smiled and nodded towards the table to where the two glasses of wine were sitting beside each other.

Kate glanced down at the glasses before turning back to the warm, soft, extremely kissable woman in her arms. “One more?” she sighed and met Osgood halfway when she eagerly leaned in again. Several minutes later she’d worked her hands under the brunette’s sweater, scratching gently through her shirt and adding ‘squirmy’ to her newly discovered favourite Osgood attributes. “No, No, No!” she gritted her teeth and forced herself to take a step back when her phone pinged twice in quick succession. “One second” she held up her index finger to the dazed brunette and turned to find her phone.

“Do we need to go back?” Osgood was breathing heavily and cleaning her glasses.

Kate had finally located the phone but had to go back to her bedroom to find her glasses. Walking back into the living room she looked up quickly and smiled softly. “It’s from Liz” she held out the phone for Osgood to take, nodding and offering it again when she didn’t.

“Liz?” Osgood asked and looked at the messages, the first hoping they have a good date and the second apologising if she’d interrupted the good bits already. “She does know you well” Osgood grinned as she handed the phone back. “Probably a good thing though” she acknowledged and tucked her shirt into the back of her trousers before pulling her sweater back down.

“Maybe” Kate sort of agreed and pinged off a reply, reading it out when Osgood raised an eyebrow in question. “I thanked her for her good wishes and cursed her for her awful timing” she smiled.

********************************************

Kate pondered the menu choices and tried to figure out what her first and second options were, dependent on whether Osgood chose something with garlic or chilis in it first. 

“I never did finish telling you” Osgood leaned closer and said quietly “You look lovely, I haven’t seen you in a skirt before” 

Kate looked up and squinted a little “No, I must have worn one in the last few years?” she tried to remember when she’d last worn something other than field-work jeans or a Ministerial trouser suit and couldn’t come up with anything. “Maybe not” she shrugged.

“I should have changed as well” Osgood frowned as she looked down at her green cords and sweater over her favourite question mark shirt.

“Why, you look lovely as you are” Kate reached out with her left hand, twining their fingers together as she had one last look at her menu. “Did you decide?” she nodded at the menu sitting in front of the younger woman as the waiter arrived at their table.

“Macaroni cheese” Osgood looked uncertain “I know it’s not very fancy but I like it”

“Surely that’s the only reason to choose something in a restaurant?” Kate smiled as she asked for the Caesar Salad without the anchovies. The waiter read back their order and lit the small candle that sat between them, winking at Osgood as he turned away.

“So” Osgood sipped from her glass of sparkling water, they’d both agreed on keeping clear heads for the rest of the evening. “I erm…” she swallowed nervously but calmed a little when she saw the soft smile directed at her. “This is kind of weird, for me I mean” she blew out a breath before taking another sip. “Sometimes I feel like some kind of Casanova and the rest of the time I’m quaking in my boots in case I do something to upset you”

“I’m scared too Os” Kate leaned on the table, her dark eyes showing her emotions with added highlights from the candle flickering between them. “We’ll figure it out as we go along, there isn’t a right or wrong way for this, just our way”

“And our way involves dinner and then actually going to see the movie tonight rather than getting dinner to go and heading back to your flat…….right?” Osgood blushed at how badly she wanted the latter.

“I think so, probably better for our long-term prospects” Kate suggested, surprised at how strongly she felt her stomach drop. “If it helps, I want to be kissing in my flat again as well” she admitted and took a large swallow of her water.

“Then I should probably admit that I booked us special seats later, in case you want to change them” Osgood held out her phone with the reservation confirmation for Kate to see.

Kate squinted at the phone before her eyebrows rose a little and she handed it back with a grin. “You actually expect me to pay any attention to the movie when you’ve booked us a back-row sofa?” she asked incredulously.

“Well I didn’t know we’d be kissing already, I can change it?” Osgood waited and was relieved and panicked in equal measure on Kate’s shake of her head. Dropping her phone back into her pocket she nervously moved her cutlery.

“Os?” Kate tried to get past the images of sitting next to this woman in a darkened room later. “Os?” she asked again before deciding that drastic measures were called for “Tell me about the movie?”

“Honestly it’s a great movie but probably just about the worst first date movie ever” she admitted with a shy smile. “Although now I come to think of it, Up would be pretty bad as well”. Shaking her head she tried to gather herself. “So, what’s your favourite movie?” she asked and felt the panic receding a little.

Kate spent the next twenty minutes, interrupted only by the arrival of their food, explaining the positive benefits of watching any movie made during the Hollywood golden years. “I mean they could have filmed Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy reading a shopping list and it would have been Oscar worthy” she enthused, spearing the last piece of chicken on her plate and catching the last of the sauce with it. “And I’ve hogged the conversation, I’m sorry” she ran her hand through her hair and sat back in the chair.

“Not at all, I love it when you’re enthusiastic about something” Osgood smiled and glanced at her watch. “It’s kind of distracting when it happens at work” she stared at her own cleared plate briefly before looking back up.

“Not as distracting as work’s going to be now that I know how soft your lips are,” Kate said quietly and cleared her throat as the waiter came to remove their plates. “And that’s not really helping, sorry”

“It’s not like I was going to forget kissing you any time this millennium,” Osgood said drily. “Let me pay for this and we can behave ourselves on a comfy sofa for the rest of the night” she waved off Kate’s offer to pay half and glared when Kate said she should be paying for dinner since Os had booked the cinema tickets. “I’m the one with a big pay rise to celebrate” she reminded her and the argument ended before it had really begun.

************************************

“I can’t believe your favourite was Bruce!” Osgood laughed as they walked out of the cinema later that night. They were holding hands and Kate was wiping her eyes from tears of laughter. “I’ve never met anyone who thought the veggie shark was the best thing in the entire movie”

“He was funny and the accent was brilliant” Kate laughed again at Osgood’s shake of her head. “But Dory was very good as well, my second favourite” she tried to redeem herself.

“Don’t give me a Dory pity vote!” Osgood couldn’t pretend outrage for long and they were both laughing again as they strolled towards the taxi rank.

There was a queue for the taxis and Kate pulled her long cardigan around her, looking up at the sky. “It’s quite a nice night” she looked back at Osgood “We could walk back to my place in about thirty minutes?” she suggested.

“Perfect” Osgood agreed, glad of an excuse to continue the best date of her life. They walked in companionable silence for a few minutes, holding hands and stepping around obstructions and other pedestrians so that they didn’t have to let go. “I was talking to the cinema manager while you were getting the popcorn earlier” she glanced up to see Kate looking towards her. “He said they are going to be running a Hitchcock season in a couple of months if you’d like to go?” 

“That would be lovely” Kate lifted their hands, turning them over to let her kiss the back of Osgood’s. “Can we book our sofa for all of them?”

“Oh yeah” Osgood agreed, blushing as she remembered settling onto the ridiculously squashy sofa and immediately sinking into Kate’s arms. They had watched the majority of the movie sitting as close together as they could without her actually being on Kate’s knee and had managed to steal a few low wattage kisses during the quieter parts of the movie. “I’m glad you liked it, some people prefer the more modern cinemas but I like the chipped cherubs and velvet curtains”

“Takes me back to a misspent youth” Kate admitted. “I’d bunk off school with some of my friends and we’d sneak into the local cinema and watch movies while we puffed away on hand-rolled fags” she shook her head. “And if you ever tell Gordy or Alex I’ll deny everything” she winked at the brunette.

“I’d like to meet them,” Osgood said quietly, not sure whether Kate had been joking or not. “And I promise to keep all of your secrets” she considered for a moment, “But they need to know you thought Bruce was the best thing in Finding Nemo” she declared seriously and took a couple of steps sideways to avoid Kate’s free hand that moved to swiped her in the stomach.

Kate was quiet for a few steps before taking a deep breath in and making her decision. “Do you have any plans for the weekend?” she started off slowly.

“Not really, some research papers peer reviews to catch up on and there’s an exhibition at the National Gallery I’d like to see before it closes” Osgood stopped as soon as Kate stopped walking beside her. “What?”

“Just, the National, I haven’t really been back since….” Kate swallowed and remembered the Zygons.

“We sweep the Under Gallery every week and nobody else gets near it” she squeezed the blonde’s hand. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking” she dropped her head and looked at her shoes.

“No, I’m just being a bit wobbly, ridiculous really” Kate straightened her spine and took a deep breath. “What I actually wanted to ask, really, and don’t feel you need to say yes, obviously…”

“Kate” Osgood tugged their still joined hands and kissed the babbling away. “Ask me?” she suggested when they were both staring at each other with mildly silly grins on their faces.

“I’m meeting the boys and Liz for lunch on Sunday” she swallowed nervously “And I know it’s a bit early for meeting the family but you sort of already have and Alex isn’t all that daunting once you’ve got over Liz and Gordy” she waited, watching the tiny movements in Osgood’s forehead and around her lips that gave her some idea of what she was thinking.

“The research papers can wait” the brunette shrugged. “I’m looking forward to meeting them properly, although I didn’t think it would be all of them at once”

“It is too early, isn’t it?” Kate frowned “Forget I said anything, I’ll arrange something in a few weeks”

“No, it’ll be fine” Osgood kissed her again, feeling the kisses deepen as Kate relaxed into her. “I’m here for the long haul so let’s get the family stuff over and done with” she kept eye contact so that the blonde could see she meant what she said.

They returned to walking along the quiet residential streets, still holding hands. “Long-haul?” Kate said after several minutes, catching Osgood by surprise.

“Mm?” she asked.

“You said you were around for the long haul, earlier” Kate asked nervously.

“I am, this isn’t a casual thing for me” Osgood admitted, fearing that she’d admitted too much too early and frightened the older woman off.

“You’re perfect” Kate smiled weakly and looked up in surprise as they turned into her street. “Would you like to come up for a nightcap?” she asked as they reached her front door.

Osgood had been thinking about this moment for the past ten minutes and pursed her lips. “I’d like that if you’re sure?” she knew that neither of them was planning on having an Ovaltine when they got through the front door.

Kate didn’t answer, just dug her door key out of her cardigan pocket and awkwardly opened the door with her left hand, still unwilling to let go of Osgood with her right. “Stay?” she asked simply as she closed and locked the door behind them and the brunette stepped into her personal space.

Osgood finally let go of her hand and slowly slid her hands inside the cardigan, sliding it off of Kate’s shoulders and catching it before it fell to the floor. “Phone?” she asked, the small part of her brain that wasn’t freaking out was sensible enough to know they needed to be contactable if something happened at work. She took the phone from the blonde and stuck it in her own trouser pocket. “Bedroom?” she’d decided that neither of them was really capable of processing sentences by this point.

Kate finally snapped out of the daze she was in and took charge. Stepping forward she guided Osgood back against the wall and kissed her slowly, deepening it when their tongues met and moans merged together. Her hands started on the brunette’s hips but quickly slid under the sweater and pulled it upwards. 

Osgood banged her head against the wall as she tried to get the sweater over her head and take her glasses off at the same time. “Oof” she mumbled, finally getting her arms free and dropping the sweater on the floor. “Bed” she tried again but Kate seemed determined to continue what she’d started here.

“Off,” Kate said, finishing unbuttoning the shirt and pulling the sides apart to finally get to some skin. Leaning in again she ran her hands over the brunette’s ribs and stomach, licking her lips before kissing her again.

Osgood pulled her arms free from the sleeves of her shirt and dropped it near the sweater. Realising that she was behind in this game she started to feel for Kate’s shirt buttons, accidentally brushing against Kate’s breast in her quest. She felt the moan vibrate through her own chest as Kate pushed against her hand and the kiss deepened. Finally getting the last button undone by touch alone she slid her hand against the warm, soft body and pulled her head back to catch her breath. “You’re beautiful” she managed and stroked the underside of Kate’s breasts with her thumbs. 

Kate couldn’t speak, she thought she’d been overwhelmed when they’d been kissing like their lives depended on it but that was before she’d felt Osgood’s skin against her own and the added stimulus of her own breasts being caressed had pushed her over the edge. “Inhaler?” she gulped air in quickly, worrying that Osgood had stopped kissing her because she needed her medication.

Osgood shook her head, “Just too much” she breathed out but didn’t stop her own hands from cupping Kate’s breasts and squeezing gently. “Bed, please?” she was begging but she wasn’t sure how much longer she could stand up when her legs felt as if they had stopped working.

“Bed” Kate agreed, taking a deliberate step back and removing Osgood’s hands from her breasts. “Now” she suggested and watched as the brunette reacted to the tone of voice as much as the sentiment.

“Yes ma’am,” Osgood said softly before grinning and grabbing Kate’s hand. “Now” she repeated and they managed to get to the bedroom with only one bruised knee and two swear words.


	15. Saturday

Kate scrolled through her phone, having made sure that all of the notifications and ringtones were switched off. She glanced down at the sleeping brunette beside her, sliding her fingers through the dark hair and feeling how soft it was. Determined not to wake her she returned her attention to the phone.

_Lunch is OK for tomorrow, so far, is it OK if Osgood comes along as well?_

She typed out the text and sent it to Liz, Gordy, and Alex. Despite it being early she knew that Liz would be awake and wasn’t surprised when hers was the first reply and received within minutes.

_Good news, so how did the date go?_

Liz had only replied to her so Kate formulated a reply and rolled her head a little to prepare for the inevitable onslaught of questions.

_Better than I ever imagined, she’s wonderful and sweet and funny_

Kate knew she was in the ‘hideously soppy’ phase of a new relationship but was enjoying behaving like a hormonal teenager for a change.

_I’m pleased for you both, I’ll make sure the boys behave on Sunday, sounds like we don’t want to scare this one off_

Kate snorted and put her hand over her mouth, she didn’t want to wake Osgood. She was about to type a reply when another message came through.

_Glad I’ll finally get to meet her, see you there xx_

Kate smiled, the boys had grown up to be remarkable young men, despite all of the challenges they faced with their unconventional lives. She continued typing her next message to Liz.

_After all we’ve been through at work she won’t be scared off by my family….unless you’re actually killer robots in disguise??_

She knew she shouldn’t joke about this but it seemed that giddiness and inappropriate humour were intrinsically connected in her mind.

_I’ll leave my ray gun at home, did you want to meet up for coffee today and you can tell me EVERYTHING about last night?_

Kate grinned as she typed her reply.

_Raincheck, I want to be here when Os wakes up………_

Kate stared at her phone for several minutes, surprised when she didn’t get an immediate reply.

_Way to go Katie! What the hell are you doing on your phone if you have a hot brunette in your bed?!_

Kate laughed at the imagined roll of Liz’s eyes and quickly typed her reply.

_See you on Sunday xx_

Putting the phone down she shuffled down underneath the quilt again, trying to slide into premier spooning position without disturbing the younger woman. “Work?” she heard mumbled from Osgood.

“No, go back to sleep darling” she surprised herself with the term of endearment but it felt right so she snuggled against the warm, sleepy woman and closed her eyes. She had been asleep for several minutes before the soppy grin disappeared.

**********************************

“I haven’t slept this late on a Saturday in years” Osgood yawned again before munching another piece of toast. “Then again I’ve never had as good a reason to stay in bed before this morning” she smiled shyly.

“We could go back after breakfast?” Kate grinned, not really expecting agreement but almost wishing they could.

“I should go home and get some clean clothes” Osgood sounded like she’d wanted to agree with Kate. “Maybe we could go out for some dinner later, if you don’t have anything else planned…...or if you don’t want to that’s fine as well” she had run out of confidence halfway through the question, despite having lots of evidence to the contrary that Kate actually enjoyed spending time with her.

“Chinese or Thai?” Kate decided to stop reassuring the brunette and moved the conversation on.

“Thai” Osgood smiled before finishing her tea. “Even after last night, I’m still not sure what you see in me”

“Os” Kate sat beside her, reaching out and holding her hand between both of her own. “I’m scared too, I’m battle scarred and so much older…” she put her finger on Osgood’s lips to stop her interrupting. “But I trust you when you say you want to spend time with me”

“I trust you too” Osgood swallowed. “I do, it’s just going to take a while for me to persuade the voices in my head” she saw the look of surprise. “Metaphorical, not literal” she confirmed.

Kate shuffled her chair closer and kissed her, fingernails lightly scratching the back of her neck. “Let’s get you home before we don’t make it out of here until Monday” she sighed and prepared to stand, squeaking in surprise as she was pulled back into a hard and fast kiss that had her head spinning even faster.

“Now we can go” Osgood breathed heavily before pushing back from the table and walking to get her coat from the hallway. Kate watched her leave the kitchen and stared dazedly at the empty doorway she’d walked through. Only when she heard the inhaler being used did she manage to stand and follow her.


	16. Sunday

“So then we both had to pretend kiss each other before we realised we weren’t the doppelgangers” Osgood blushed fiercely. “And as if that wasn’t bad enough we had to include some of it in our reports when we got back to our own dimension”

“You thought that was bad, I had to read them both and remind myself that it’s bad form for the boss to shoot one of her own” Kate said grumpily while Liz and the two young men stared at them both. “Wait, what do you mean ‘some of it’?”

“As your lawyer, I’m advising you not to answer that!” Liz cut in before Osgood could say anything.

“Hey!” Kate protested and the two boys laughed at the antics of the women.

Gordy moved the discussion onto Liz’s latest case and Osgood took the opportunity to look around the table at the family. It felt strange to be accepted so easily into this group of people. She understood that Liz and Kate had discussed their situation but Kate hadn’t mentioned talking to the boys about their new relationship and yet they seemed quite content to be sitting at a restaurant table with their two mothers and a new girlfriend. Kate smiled at Liz’s description of the ‘expert’ witness who’d cracked under pressure but she could see Osgood frowning out of the corner of her eye. Resting her hand casually on the brunette’s leg under the table she leaned a little closer. “Everything OK?” she asked and rubbed her thumb on Osgood’s thigh.

“Mmm,” Osgood murmured, sipping her water and tuning back into the conversation. “I’m fine” she reassured as Kate squeezed her leg a little. “This is nice” she smiled.

Kate seemed to accept the answer at face value and turned back to dispute the facts of an old grievance involving a burnt birthday cake and sticking some candles into a tub of ice cream instead. Sometime later she watched Osgood walk towards the toilets, having a debate with herself as to whether she should follow her or not. Finally deciding that she would give her some space she instead looked around the three people who meant the most to her in the world. “Thank you for today, it’s been lovely” she looked down at her coffee cup and fiddled with the spoon. Gordy and Alex looked at each other in surprise, they weren’t used to seeing her nervous like this. 

Liz took pity on her and raised her coffee mug, clearing her throat. “To new friends” she waited for the others to clink the rims of their cups and glasses before drinking. “She already knows the iron lady, perpetually late, missing-life-events you…..if she still agreed to go out with you knowing all of that then she’s a keeper”

Alex laughed “Mum’s right, but she forgot the control freak part” he winked at Gordy and they clinked their glasses together again in agreement.

“Alright, alright” Kate accepted the teasing in good humour, “You really need to work on the pep-talks”

Osgood breathed out slowly as she stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and ran her fingers across her lips. She could still feel the tingle from the kisses they’d shared over the weekend, remember the taste of Kate and her tongue worried the bite she’d given herself during a particularly surprising orgasm last night. When she heard the door open behind her she hoped it wasn’t Kate, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to control herself in an enclosed space away from prying eyes. She still felt a pang of disappointment when she saw Liz approach her in the mirror. “Hi,” she said softly, hoping that her most recent thoughts didn’t show on her face.

“Osgood” Liz stood beside her, meeting her eyes in the mirror. “I suppose it’s a bit overwhelming?” she opened her bag to search for her lipstick and to give time for Osgood to gather herself.

“Which bit?” Osgood smiled as the redhead looked back up at her in surprise. “The part where I finally get to kiss my boss, the part where Kate seems to feel the same way or meeting her entire family two days after our first date?”

“All of it?” Liz raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Although I’m betting the first two came with their own reward”

“This part did too” Osgood turned to look at Liz. “I’ll never hurt her” she promised.

“I don’t think you would” Liz blinked in surprise. “I would have said the same once until I did, but that’s all ancient history” she waved her hand and applied her lipstick, keeping her eyes on herself in the mirror.

“It is?” the brunette asked quietly, annoyed with herself that she needed to hear the answer from this woman.

“Of course, Kate told you we’d talked?” Liz wanted to know what damage she had to repair.

“She did, and I know how she feels” the implication was left hanging between them.

“Then you know it’s ancient history” Liz kept eye contact for several seconds, surprised that her trademark steely glare didn’t cause even a minor flinch in the younger woman. Dropping her lipstick back into her bag she snapped it shut and captured Osgood’s arm as they walked out of the toilet together. “So has she bored you with her awful taste in movies yet?” she deliberately moved to a lighter topic as they walked across the room.

Gordy and Alex looked astounded ten minutes later when Osgood explained Kate’s choice of favourite character from Finding Nemo. “See, I told you” the brunette pointed at them and turned to Kate. “You’re the only person”

“Oh shut up” Kate slid her hand into Osgood’s and kissed the back of it. “This is going to be brought up to shame me for years to come, isn’t it?”

“Well that and my emotionally scarring 13th birthday” Alex reminded her and they all laughed.

Osgood moved to let go of Kate’s hand but felt the small squeeze that indicated that Kate wasn’t done with it yet. Flicking her eyes at the others she was surprised yet again that they all seemed to take it in their stride. Ten minutes later they were exchanging hugs and promises to meet up again soon. Liz held her hand out but pulled her into a hug when Osgood went to shake hers. “Thank you” Osgood whispered and pulled back, standing beside Kate as the three others walked towards Alex’s car. “That was really nice and really weird all at the same time” she turned to see Kate grinning at her.

“Weird?” the blonde asked, turning towards her flat as they started walking. “Did Liz say something when she met you in the Ladies?”

“Not really” Osgood hedged, she didn’t want to discuss that conversation unless she had to. “I was thinking more that your sons and ex-wife seemed remarkably calm and…..” she searched for the correct word. “Unperturbed by you feeling me up under the table or us holding hands”

“The boys are old enough to not harbour any fantasies about Liz and I getting back together” Kate reminded her. “And you’re adorable, they’d have been more worried if I didn’t hold your hand….although I don’t think I was feeling you up, to be fair” she protested with a laugh.

“My thigh was felt and it had better have been you” Osgood left no doubt on her feelings if anyone else had tried. “Liz was OK as well?”

“She was the one pushing me to ask you out so the only surprise would be that I finally did” Kate suggested. “Gordy said he liked your bow tie and Alex was angling for one of the smartwatches that you put together for Josh…..it’s a safe bet they’ll be turning up for more Sunday lunches if you’re going to be there”

Osgood skipped ahead before turning and facing Kate, walking backward slowly to stay in front of her “Just over three weeks ago this wouldn’t have even been my wildest dream, none of it would” she confided before breaking out a huge grin. “I know it’s the dopamine but I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy”

“Maslow certainly got it right” Kate held out her hands, taking an extra step to bring her into Osgood’s arms. She was about to say something more when she stopped herself, kissing Osgood instead. She didn’t let it deepen too much, they were in public, but the feeling of having this woman in her arms was almost overwhelming. “If you promise to behave we could have a coffee?” she smiled as Osgood grinned back at her.

“No promises” Osgood shrugged but followed Kate down the remainder of the street to her front door.

An hour later Kate flopped onto her back and breathed heavily “I need to get back to the gym” she puffed.

“Inhaler?” Osgood offered and giggled. “I haven’t done this much cardio since school” she rested her arm across her eyes, still seeing flashes of light when she squeezed her eyes closed. “Actually I doubt it was this much even then” she tried to remember working this hard at hockey or netball “Not even to impress Miss Jones”

“Always had a thing for older women?” Kate managed to roll onto her side, propping her head on her hand. She swept her eyes along the length of the naked body next to her, marveling once again at the curves which were normally hidden underneath baggy sweaters and lab coats. 

“Just hot blondes” Osgood grinned and peeked out from under her arm to see Kate looking surprised and pleased. She moved her arm, resting it on her stomach and catching hold of Kate’s hand. “You know I don’t think that even a Black Archive mind-wipe could make me forget how beautiful you are just before you come” she could feel herself blush and rolled her eyes but decided to keep going. “I have no idea how we’re going to make this work when we’re back at the Tower but there’s nothing I want more than to make this work”

“I had no idea you were such a sweet talker” Kate leaned down and stole a quick kiss before settling down on the pillow beside the brunette. “I want to make this work too, more than I’ve wanted anything in a very long time” she leaned up briefly to grab the quilt from the floor, tugging it back across them. “And just to be clear, you are beautiful all the time” she settled the quilt at their waists, not ready to have her gorgeous girlfriend covered up completely. They lay together for a few more minutes, their breathing returning to normal. Eventually, Kate slipped her hand free and rested it on Osgood’s chest, above her heart. “This has all been sudden and a long time coming,” she said softly, smiling as Osgood nodded in agreement. “Considering how we live our lives I want you to know……” she licked her lower lip, hesitant.

“I love you too” Osgood whispered and leaned forward to kiss her. 

“Three days ago I’d have been happy with a kiss goodnight after the movie” Kate admitted. “And now I’m trying to plan how I get to keep you in this bed until the last possible moment tomorrow morning”

“I can’t stay tonight” Osgood put her index finger against the lips which opened to disagree. “I really want to, I seem to be addicted to watching you sleep, you’re so relaxed” she raised an eyebrow when Kate sneaked her tongue between lips to lick her finger. “And the little snores you give out are cute”

“I do not snore!” Kate pulled back to protest. “And I am most definitely not cute” she mock-scowled to prove how not cute she was.

“Oh you do and you are” Osgood grinned and leaned in to kiss the pout that was starting to form. “And I need to stop doing that if I’m going to leave this bed ever again” she breathed heavily when the kiss wound down.

“Sorry” Kate tried to pretend remorse but didn’t have her heart in it. “OK, so why do you think you need to leave tonight?”

“I need to leave in an hour” Osgood squinted over Kate’s shoulder at the clock on the bedside table. “Because I have laundry to do and emails to check and……” she paused, not entirely sure she wanted to admit this next bit, hoping that Kate would agree. “And I think we both need some time to figure out where the whirlwind of the last few days has left us”

“It’s left us in bed together” Kate pragmatically pointed out but held up her hand to stop Osgood’s protest. “I know” she pulled back a little to show that she was listening. “But you may be making this more complicated than it needs to be”

Osgood searched the blonde’s face, trying to see if she was being obtuse. “We could wake up tomorrow in an alternate dimension or faced with Cybermen or Daleks” she tried to make the blonde understand. “And I get distracted by how sexy you sound when you moan my name right in the middle of.….” she waved her hand in the air between them. “I need to be concentrating at work…...on the bad guys, not you”

“I think that ship has sailed, darling” Kate said softly. “And not just for as long as the bruises on my bum last” She rubbed Osgood’s cheek as the blush spread right up to the tips of her ears. “You’re in my life now, in my mind….in my heart” she swallowed. “And invading hordes of Ogrons wouldn’t change that, Os” 

“I feel the same, but I’m worried that you’ll need ‘no social life’ Osgood to solve something really fast and ‘shagged out’ Osgood isn’t good enough” she bit her lip, she hadn’t meant to dump all of this onto Kate just yet. “And this is why I wanted to process everything separately, I babble slightly less in my own head” she sniffled and tried a weak smile.

“I only ever needed an Osgood” Kate cleared her throat and moved closer to kiss the tears from the brunette’s eyelashes before they could fall. “I didn’t mean to pressure you, I’m sorry” she pulled back and slid out of the bed, reaching for the towel that she’d dropped earlier. “I’ll make us both a cuppa while you take a shower” she headed for the kitchen.

“Bugger” Osgood blew out a breath and pressed the heel of her hands against her eyes. “Stupid, stupid, stupid” she muttered and headed for the bathroom.

Kate had slipped into a pair of running shorts and t-shirt while Osgood had been in the shower and returned to tidy up the living room and kitchen. She stood in the kitchen, sipping her tea and looking out of the window at dusk settling over the houses across the street. “Hey” she poured Osgood a mug of her own and followed her into the living room. “I found your em..” she pointed to the bra sitting on the coffee table “It had fallen behind the tv”

“I’m fairly sure you threw it there but thanks” she tried to smile as she stuffed the bra into her coat pocket. “I’m sorry about earlier, it’s just sometimes the worry-weasels inside my head take over for a while”

“You were right” Kate shrugged. “We both need to process how this changes things” she looked down at her hands where they grasped the mug hard and tried to relax. “But things have changed, absolutely for the better, and however we deal with this I don’t think I can go back to what we were before”

Osgood stared at her, putting her untouched tea on the table and reaching for the blonde. She held her in her arms, tucking her head against her shoulder and holding on for dear life. “I know” she whispered after a few seconds. “We’ll figure it out”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is as far as I've written so far, there will be a couple more "days" to get to the end so hopefully, it'll all be written and posted by next weekend at the latest.


	17. Monday

Kate scowled at her monitor as she read the email from Central Command. Muttering under her breath she checked the attachment and swore. Taking her glasses off, she scrubbed her face before running her hands through her hair. “Can you get the senior staff together in the conference room in 30 minutes please?” she asked her assistant and headed for Osgood’s lab.

McGillop was searching through a pile of folders on Osgood’s desk when he heard Kate knock softly on the door frame. “Ma’am?” he asked, struggling not to drop the pile of papers.

“Is Osgood here?” she had glanced around the lab before heading for the brunette’s office.

“No ma’am” he looked confused for a moment. “She called in sick early this morning” he had assumed that Kate would already know and that the look that crossed her face was one of annoyance. “I can take a message for her or maybe one of us could help?” he offered.

“Can you attend a meeting in the conference room at half past?” Kate checked with him before turning and walking briskly back to her office. She pulled her phone from her pocket and checked that she didn’t have any missed calls or messages. She pulled her glasses down from where they’d been shoved up into her hair earlier, quickly typing out a text message.

**********************************************************

The Colonel was reading through a report while he waited for the others to arrive. When McGillop came in and nervously looked around he smiled at the young man “Osgood isn’t here yet”

“I know, I’m filling in for her” McGillop pulled out one of the heavy chairs and slumped down across from the Colonel. “She didn’t tell me there was a meeting planned when she phoned in sick this morning” he shrugged.

“This was only arranged this morning” the Colonel explained before looking up sharply. “Osgood is sick?”

“Why doesn’t anyone else know?” McGillop looked worried “Was I supposed to let you all know?”

“Vikram, a word” Kate had entered the room as McGillop had asked his question. She walked back out into the corridor and turned to wait for him.

“Kate, is Osgood OK?” he asked, nodding at two of his men who walked past. 

“I have no idea” Kate looked worried. “I tried texting her then calling but she’s not answering”

“Did she seem OK on Friday?” he asked, not wanting to pry but worried that Kate was worried.

“She was fine when she left yesterday evening” Kate looked down at her shoes, both hands sliding into her trouser pockets. “She was fine” she reiterated as she met his concerned gaze.

“What do you need?” he asked, ready to do whatever she asked to reassure them both.

“Tell me I’m not being an overbearing girlfriend when I ask you to send Carter to check on her?” she waited to see what his response would be.

“Jones!” he raised his voice enough to stop the nearest soldier. “Find Carter and send him to me in the Conference Room, at the double”

“Sir” she soldier snapped to attention before running off to the communications room to locate the Captain.

“So” he leaned back against the wall, content to give Kate the time she needed to gather herself. “Girlfriend…..I assume Friday night went well?”

“Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday afternoon,......” she grinned as he held up his hands to stop her saying anything else. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist” she shrugged.

“As the actress said to the bishop” he whispered and watched her grin and stare down at her shoes again. “Carter,” he said briskly to warn her that the young man was approaching.

“Sir, Jones said you needed to see me?” Carter stopped beside them. “Ma’am” he nodded at the blonde, noticing that she seemed a little flushed but not paying too much attention.

“Yes, Osgood has phoned in sick this morning” the Colonel explained. “And we haven’t been able to raise her since, need you to go round and make sure she’s OK”

“Sir?” Carter looked surprised and glanced between them.

“Problem?” Shindi raised his eyebrow.

“No sir, but….well” he hesitated, seeing Kate tense. “Should I take her some chicken soup or asthma meds?”

Kate cleared her throat and put a hand gently on Shindi’s arm to interrupt him. “I was with Osgood until around 6 pm yesterday, she was in good health and not symptomatic of anything that would make her take her first sick day since joining UNIT” she kept her gaze steady and open “I’m worried about her Josh, I can’t get any answer to texts or calls”

“Of course, I’ll call you when I get there” he nodded and quickly saluted them both before walking briskly towards the garage.

“One day he’ll just do what he’s told” Shindi shook his head.

“I’m sure we’ll both have retired by then” Kate sighed and headed into the conference room, followed by a chuckling Colonel.

“So Geneva has a diplomatic mess on their hands” Kate explained to the gathered department heads. “Israel didn’t like it when we suggested that their launch capability was using alien technology and are demanding proof and access to our records”

“Why can’t we give them the proof?” McGillop asked and then looked surprised that he’d actually said it out loud. 

“Because we didn’t exactly go through official channels to get the final information that proved it was their rocket team that had worked with the stolen armour plating” Kate explained patiently. “I won’t go into detail, suffice it to say that the research didn’t rely on diplomats writing memos for months” she held up her hand to forestall any discussion. “I signed off that the information should be used to formulate the final solution to remove the plating”

“Do we have a source we need to protect?” the Colonel had an idea that Kate was trying to cover the trail on where the information came from.

“Yes, we can’t risk that the person who helped us is identified, we all know how seriously the Israelis take their internal security” she looked around some uncomfortable faces. “I’m not making any political points here, it’s about the science transcending national borders and making sure that’s what continues to happen”

“What do you need from us, ma’am?” Shindi wasn’t overly keen on political arguments either, the armour plating problem was resolved as far as he was concerned and he didn’t want to spend any more time on it.

“I need to be in Geneva for the rest of this week” she explained, glancing at her watch. “Wheels up in an hour” she drummed her fingers on the table briefly before closing her eyes. “Let’s make sure that all of the reports are up to date and the logs on the testing of the laser solution are signed off”

“We’ll keep things ticking over here until you get back,” the Colonel said briskly, relieved to see the other department heads nodded in agreement.

“McGillop, I need the latest reports on progress in the deployment of the lasers” Kate stood and dropped her glasses and phone into her trouser pockets. “That’ll be all for now” she shared a glance with the Colonel and he stayed seated as everyone else filed out of the room.

“There isn’t a replacement carpet in the budget,” Shindi said after watching Kate pacing for several minutes. She turned and was clearly about to make a rude suggestion as to where he could stick the budget and some carpet when his phone rang. “Carter?” he answered it and watched Kate slide into the chair next to him. “Get her back here asap” he ordered and hung up the call.

“Vikram?” she frowned, it did not look like he was about to give her good news.

“Carter gained entry to her flat when she didn’t answer her door, she was unconscious in bed but breathing” he held up his hand. “He’s bringing her in now, let’s head to the infirmary and get ready for them”

“I need to prepare for Geneva,” Kate said but her voice was weaker than he’d ever heard before and she looked lost.

“It’s our plane, it can wait until you know what’s happened” he instilled as much confidence into his voice as he could, trying to impart some to her. “Kate,” he said and waited for her to snap out of her confusion. “She’ll be fine” he put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed a little.

“OK” she nodded and followed him to the infirmary.

***************************************

“Let’s get some oxygen and bloods please” Dr. Windsor calmly checked Osgood and the monitors she was hooked up to. He looked up as Kate and Vikram walked back into the infirmary. “She’s breathing on her own and there don’t appear to be any obvious injuries”

“So why is she unconscious?” Vikram asked, watching Kate as she moved around to the other side of the bed and stared down at the pale younger woman.

“No idea at the moment but we’re running tests and should know something soon” he looked up in surprise as Kate gently stroked some hair from Osgood’s brow. He turned to look at the Colonel and found himself on the end of a steely blue glare that dared him to say anything about what he was witnessing. “I can bring the results to your office when I get them, Dr. Stewart” he looked back down at the notes in his hand, giving the blonde time to gather herself.

“Liaise with Colonel Shindi, I need to be in Geneva” she crossed her arms in an attempt not to touch the brunette again. “But I want updates every hour or if she takes a turn for the worse” she pinned the doctor with a stare that made it clear she wasn’t offering a suggestion.

“Of course ma’am” he replied “We’ll take good care of her” he nodded and walked out of the room, gesturing for the nurse to follow him.

“Let me go to Geneva” Shindi offered.

“It has to be me, they’re going to want to understand the science behind what we found,” she said softly. “But thank you” she finally turned to look at him. 

“Nothing to thank me for” he assured her. “I’ll stay with her and we’ll have the teams trying to figure out what happened to her”

“If you need a timeline of the weekend I could pull something together?” she offered with a distasteful look on her face.

“Good grief no, let’s leave that as a last resort” he looked horrified at the thought. “Besides that would be worth more than the Crown Jewels on the black market ma’am” he winked at her and stepped outside the room, closing the door and standing in front of it to stop anyone else entering.

Kate shook her head and noticed his broad back standing against the outside of the door. Glancing at her watch she sighed and sat carefully on the edge of the bed, taking Osgood’s right hand in her own. “Not how I pictured being back in bed with you” she quipped and her deep breath almost turned into a sob. Breathing a few times to steady herself she leaned over to kiss Osgood’s forehead. “You better be alright and I’m so sorry I have to leave darling” she gently stroked her cheek, seeing that she was less pale but very warm. “I love you Osgood” she kissed her lips quickly and pulled back. Striding to the door she pulled it open and waited for the Colonel to step out of her way. “Sooner I get to Geneva the sooner I get home,” she said, quickly wiping a tear from her eye before it could fall in case it encouraged more. “Dr. Windsor!” she called out and the doctor hurried over to her. “She’s starting to run a slight fever, let me know what’s happening every thirty minutes” She didn’t wait for an answer as she strode out of the infirmary, straight to the garage.

“Ma’am” Carter held her car door open for her “Bags are already in the boot and the jet is refueled and ready to go when we get there” 

Kate nodded and slid into the back seat, scanning through emails and updates for her upcoming meetings. Five minutes into the high speed drive through London she finally glanced up “Thank you for bringing her in so quickly” she said quietly and caught his flicked gaze in the mirror to see her. 

“We’ll take good care of her ma’am,” he said softly. “She was dropping in and out of consciousness when I carried her to the car, called out for you a couple of times” he carefully didn’t put any emphasis on this information. “Oh, and she was wearing pajamas when I found her” he cleared his throat.

Kate looked confused for a second before smiling gently at him “I’m sure she’d have forgiven you if she hadn’t been” 

“Osgood may have mind-wiped me but I doubt you’d have been so forgiving” he risked a small joke and was relieved to hear a small huff of laughter behind him. “Two minutes out, ma’am” he confirmed as the exit from the motorway led him down a quieter road towards the airfield.

**************************************************

“And the data is in your folder” Kate opened the folder of papers in front of her and fanned out the top three pages. “As you can see, the progression from our initial findings to the final successful tests is clearly laid out and follows standard scientific methodology” she glanced around the table at the interested scientists and mildly confused soldiers. Looking down at her watch she cleared her throat. “Now would be a good time for a break” she stood and slipped her glasses into her hair. “I’m going to check with London” she explained to the General and walked out of the room on his nod.

Shindi was standing beside Osgood’s bed, watching the staff packing bags of ice around the young woman. “Test results?” he asked the doctor who stood next to him. 

“Nothing conclusive yet, she seems to be fighting off some kind of infection” he nodded towards the monitor showing her temperature at 105 degrees C. “That’s dangerous so the ice will help to get it down”

Shindi groaned as he looked at his phone. “Kate” he answered, walking away from the medical team. “She’s still running a temperature and the test results aren’t back yet” he explained. “I think he’s busy right now” he listened and his eyes opened wider as he heard language he hadn’t heard in a quite a few years. “Dr. Stewart for you” he handed his phone to the doctor and shrugged apologetically.

“105” Dr. Windsor decided not to volunteer any information.”We’re lowering it as quickly as we can” he waited for the next question.

“So where are the test results?” Kate ground out, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Tell the lab that this is a top priority and if they have a problem they can speak to me” her tone of voice left him in no doubt of what her reaction would be if she was questioned. “Text me her temperature readings every 15 minutes” she waited for his agreement before ending the call abruptly. “General?” she was surprised to see the General standing in front of her. 

“Kate” he glanced around to make sure they were alone. “Is there a problem?” he gestured to her phone.

“One of my people, Osgood, unconscious and we’ve no idea why” she tried to run her fingers through her hair but only succeeded in dislodging her glasses. “The medical team at the Tower are working on it now”

“Sorry to hear that, Osgood is a valuable asset” he clearly thought this was a compliment but quickly changed his mind as he watched her jaw clench. “I think we’re ready to start again” he returned to the room and was relieved when she followed him a few seconds later.

****************************************************

Shindi stared at the doctor before looking at Osgood and then staring at him again. “Say that again,” he said quietly, not quite willing to believe that things were about to get a lot better and worse at the same time.

The doctor looked even more confused. “I said that now that we know it’s an after effect of the spores infiltrating her respiratory system we should be able to come up with a solution” 

“Not that bit” Shindi waved his hand between them “The next bit”

“Well it’s obvious really, we need to quarantine everyone who was in the lab when the accident happened or who had close contact with Osgood, Andrews or Edwards” he gestured to the room next door where the two scientists were currently being scanned, poked and prodded.

“Close contact” Shindi felt the dread wash over him. “How close, exactly?”

The doctor stared at the soldier and realised that there was something going on that he wasn’t aware of. Pointing to a side room that was currently unoccupied he closed the door behind the soldier before turning and crossing his arms. “Spit it out,” he said. “I don’t care what you’re about to tell me, I just need to make sure that we’re able to treat everyone who may have been affected”

Shindi rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and decided that he had no choice but to take the man into his confidence. “Osgood seems to be more badly affected than anyone else, why is that?”

“Osgood already had compromised lungs because of her asthma and she was also closer to the spore release than anyone else apart from those two” he nodded at the younger scientists. 

“So if someone came in close contact with Osgood since the accident, would they be in danger too?” Shindi tried to understand how much information he would have to share.

“How close?” the doctor had a fairly good idea what the Colonel was talking around but he couldn’t act on unverified suspicions.

“Let’s say, hypothetically, that they had kissed Osgood?” he wasn’t sure whether he was blushing and the thought that he might be probably made him blush harder.

“Well if her grandmother kissed her cheek once then we probably don’t have anything to worry about” the doctor raised an eyebrow, almost enjoying watching the experienced soldier squirming.

“Windsor” the Colonel growled and cracked his knuckles before taking a deep breath. “Kate and Osgood spent the weekend together and I think we can assume that they kissed several times” he waited a beat before taking a deliberate step forward. “If I wasn’t worried about both of them we wouldn’t be having this conversation”

“I understand” the Doctor held his ground. “I need to speak to Dr. Stewart immediately” he pressed on with the business at hand.

Shindi redialled Kate’s phone and listened to it ring out twice before it was answered. “Kate, she’s fine, Dr. Windsor needs to speak to you,” he said quickly before handing the phone over.

“Windsor?” Kate waited for a second, holding up her index finger to the others in the room before walking to the other end of the conference table. “Her temperature?” she asked and was relieved when he reported that it was wavering around 100 degrees C. 

“So you see Dr. Stewart, we really need to implement quarantine on anyone who may have been exposed to the spores directly or indirectly” he could almost hear the cogs in her mind clicking into place.

“You’re kidding me” she muttered and ran her hand over her face. “The other scientists from the lab?” she checked on her people, hoping to delay the inevitable.

“None of them seem to be encountering the same problems, but they’re younger and not compromised, to begin with” he explained, really hoping that she wasn’t going to make him say it.

“Good news” she was relieved that nobody else was ill. “So Dr. Windsor” she cleared her throat. “What exactly do you mean by indirect exposure?” she turned as one of the soldiers called her name, holding up two fingers to show she needed two more minutes.

“Well Dr. Stewart” he looked at the Colonel and shrugged “Hypothetically we would be worried if someone had been in close contact with Osgood over the past few days”

“I’m assuming Colonel Shindi has updated you?” she clenched her fist. When the doctor hummed his agreement she continued. “So what’s your recommendation?” she asked.

“I’d like you back here as soon as possible,” he said and was surprised by the very polite voice saying something very rude indeed. “If that’s not possible then you need to be quarantined in Geneva”

“Leave it with me, I’ll call you back in ten minutes,” she said quietly and ended the call, her head dropping for several seconds before she rolled her shoulders and turned to the roomful of soldiers and scientists. “Geneva, we have a problem” she tried for some levity before delivering her news.


	18. Tuesday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe Tuesday's aren't that bad after all.......or are they?!

Kate rested her head against the seat, watching the lights flicker as they flew through the rain to land. “Thank you” she smiled wearily at the pilot who checked that she was alright after a bumpy flight home in the early hours of the morning. Squinting out of the door she was relieved to see the car nearby and that one of the ground crew was loading her bag into the boot. She walked across the tarmac, her coat being blown behind her as the rain battered against her face. “Vikram” she sighed as she slid into the passenger seat of the car, fastening her seatbelt as they peeled away towards the exit from the airfield.

“Kate, I’m sorry” the Colonel glanced at her before opening his window to show his security credentials to the guard at the gate. “I didn’t have any choice but to tell him”

“I understand” she assured him. “You did the right thing” she ran her hands through her hair to settle it after the windy transfer. “How is she?”

Shindi knew that she had been getting regular medical updates while in the air so assumed that she wanted something less clinical. “She’s looking a lot better since they got her temperature down” he switched on the flashing blue lights as he joined the motorway. “Still unconscious but breathing on her own”

“Excellent” Kate stared out of the side window at the blurry overhead lights. 

“Was General Carver peeved?” Shindi asked, trying to keep her mind off of the young woman’s plight.

“He wasn’t exactly delighted but the medical officer in Geneva explained that this was standard medical procedure, if a little unusual” she rested her hands on her thighs, trying not to clench them. “I told them I was first into the lab after the accident, not that I’d spent all weekend snogging patient zero” she smiled at him before biting her lip.

“I wish I’d thought of that” he shook his head. “Would have been a damn sight easier than explaining that Osgood hadn’t kissed her grandmother” 

“It’s 2 am, I’m cold, wet, tired and worried sick about my girlfriend” Kate said slowly, reminding herself that it wasn’t a great idea to smack her friend in the head as he was driving at nearly 100 miles per hour. “But I’m sure you just compared me to…..”

“No!” he realised what he’d said. “Good god no” he reassured her, risking a glance across at her before returning his attention to the road. “I asked Windsor how close the contact had to be and he said a quick peck from her grandmother wasn’t something to worry about” 

“Oh” she dialed back the temper she’d been about to lose

“It’s been a long day” he signaled to take the next exit. “You’ll be in the quarantine bay with Osgood soon and maybe you can get some sleep” he suggested.

“Did you install four poster infirmary beds while I was away?” she chuckled, trying to reduce the tension a little.

“Just be thankful that Andrews and Edwards were being discharged as I left to collect you” the Colonel heard the groan before he switched on the siren to get them through the traffic lights.

****************************************************

“Dr. Stewart” the doctor breathed a sigh of relief when she walked through the doors. “How are you feeling?” he asked, not surprised when she didn’t answer.

“Osgood?” Kate stood beside her bed, eyes quickly absorbing the information displayed on the monitors on the other side of the bed. Her hand rested on the back of the brunette’s, fingers trailing gently across the back of her hand and up to her elbow. “Sleepyhead” she leaned down to kiss her forehead.

“Ma’am” the Colonel stood just inside the door to the room, effectively blocking the view for anyone from outside. “I’m going to leave you with Dr. Windsor” he waited for her nod before leaving and closing the door behind him.

“Sorry” Kate turned to the doctor. “Thank you for looking after her” she shrugged out of her coat and jacket, leaving them across the visitor’s chair in the corner of the room as she reached out to shake his hand.

“Of course” he nodded and shook her hand, holding onto it as he checked her pulse. “How are you feeling?” he shone a light into her eyes, catching the wince of pain.

“I’ve been awake for 19 hours after not sleeping very well last night and my girlfriend was rushed into hospital while I sat in a pointless meeting in another country” she yawned. “I have a headache, eye strain and a pain in my lower back that’s almost certainly down to something I did on Sunday morning and is definitely not pertinent to this” she kept eye contact with him, daring him to ask.

He didn’t dare, instead pointing to the bed behind her “Get changed and settled and we’ll get some bloods before you go to sleep” he glanced across at Osgood and smiled. “Her heart rate is down a couple of points since you came into the room, hopefully, you’ll both feel a lot better in the morning”

“It is morning” Kate grumbled as she pulled her pajamas out of her case and quickly changed.

**************************************************

Carter stood outside the side room, watching the medical staff take blood samples from everyone who had been in the lab when the spore incident happened. He had already had his taken and then replaced the Colonel on guard duty. He heard the door handle slowly turning and took a step back, turning to see who was opening the door. “Ma’am,” he said quietly as Kate slipped through the barely open door.

“Carter” she managed before an enormous yawn hit her. “Sorry” she shook herself to get rid of the last of the sleepiness. “What time is it?” she asked.

“10:15” he braced himself for the next question.

“And I would know that if my watch and phone hadn’t been removed” she held up a hand to stop him interrupting. “I’m going to assume there is a good reason and that the most secure place in London didn’t allow a sneak thief in the middle of the night”

Carter held out her phone sheepishly “The Colonel didn’t want the constant emails and messages to disturb you” he cleared his throat, uncomfortable at throwing his boss under the bus but not wanting to lie.

“Very thoughtful” she took the phone and slipped it into her jeans pocket. “Where’s Dr. Windsor?” she asked.

“With the Colonel in the lab”, he returned to his post, guarding the room that only contained one occupant now.

*********************************************

McGillop swiped through several images on his laptop before transferring the one he was looking for onto the larger screen for the others to see. “We’ve isolated the pathogen” he pointed at a blue died blob in the middle of the screen. “It’s in the blood samples of all of us who were in the lab when the accident happened” 

“Gentlemen” Kate walked into the lab. “Where are we?”

“We’ve isolated the pathogen” McGillop pointed at the screen. “Looks like Osgood's is the most adverse reaction so far”

“What’s the coverage?” Kate asked the doctor.

“Like McGillop said, everyone who was in the lab when the spores were first ejected but none of the first responders were infected” he cleared his throat and looked directly at her. “Apart from you ma’am, you were first through the door”

Kate looked at McGillop and shook her head. “We can figure out a non-disclosure agreement later but I’m probably infected because I spent the weekend kissing Osgood, yes?”

In retrospect, Kate should have noticed that McGillop picked up his coffee mug as she turned to look at the doctor. It became apparent when he inhaled instead of sipping and spent the next few seconds coughing and spluttering. The doctor gave him one last slap on the back before turning back to Kate “That would seem most likely, the air filtration emergency system had cleared the air within seconds of the alarm being raised”

“So why is she still unconscious and we’re all fine?” Kate leaned back against one of the desks, crossing her arms.

“I’m theorising that her body reacted much more violently to the pathogens in her system” he pointed to Kate and McGillop “The rest of you have a barely perceptible rise in temperature and a higher than normal white cell count”

“So we’re all fighting off an infection?” Kate confirmed she understood what he’d said so far.

“Yes, but Osgood’s immune system overreacted to the infection, which is where the hyperthermia kicked in” he explained. “Now that we’ve managed to get her temperature back down to something less worrying we can hopefully put together a cocktail of antibiotics”

“Test them on me first,” Kate said quietly. “Do we have any idea why the symptoms took so long to manifest?”

“Still working on that, although the pathogen seems to have replicated very slowly” McGillop had answered this and moved to another page showing two graphs.

Kate patted her pockets down to find her glasses before giving up and stepping closer to the screen. “That is incredibly slow growth and spread” she squinted at the blurry lines. 

“We’ve not seen anything like this before but if it quacks and waddles….” the doctor shrugged.

“I know, it’s an alien duck” Kate agreed. “So what’s the hypothesis on what’s keeping her unconscious” she turned to look at the three men. “Why am I reminded of my sons hoping the other one will give me the bad news about the broken window?” she raised an eyebrow and saw the Colonel smile at her.

Shindi nodded to the other two men and they left the room with barely concealed relief. Shindi pulled out a chair and sat down, rubbing his hands over his face. “While you were sleeping last night I received an email from Osgood” he sat back, watching the tension build in her body. “It seems like some kind of time delayed delivery, you’ll have received it as well”

Kate’s hand automatically went to her pocket but she clenched it into a fist and stopped herself from pulling the phone out. “What did it say?”

“The Zygons left another duplicate, after the Truth or Consequences fiasco” he rolled his neck, working out the kinks from a very long couple of days.

“Two of them?” Kate dropped into a chair, suddenly able to hear the whoosh of her own heartbeat.

“Osgood setup a message to warn us if something happened to her, she’s still one half of the peace” he leaned forward, his forearms resting on his knees. “Nobody but you and me was sent the email, but I wondered if the Zygon Os knows?”

Kate ground her teeth before taking a deep breath. “What are you thinking?”

“Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that they have some kind of bond, a psychic link of some kind” he started, glad that he could finally talk this through with someone. “And that link would let them know if our Osgood was compromised or out of commission for any reason”

“How long since she communicated with anyone?” Kate stood to pace, sitting still wasn’t helping her think.

“28 hours” Shindi replied.

“Any communications from Truth or Consequences?” she asked, remembering that her glasses were back in the quarantine bay. “I need my laptop set up in the infirmary” she walked briskly back to the infirmary.

*****************************************************************

Kate ran the scanner across Osgood’s head again, shaking it when she didn’t get different results from the last five times she’d run the test. “I can’t narrow down the signal enough” she muttered to herself, annoyed that the one person who could have helped her was the one lying unconscious.

A nurse came into the room, looking around nervously at Kate and the piles of equipment which were scattered between the beds and tables. “Ma’am” she waited for Kate to step back from Osgood’s bedside and scribbled down the readings from the monitors in the younger woman’s notes. Clearing her throat she held out the thermometer and waited for Kate to sit down on her bed to let her stick it in her ear. “Thank you” she murmured and noted her temperature in the notes before hurrying from the room.

Kate stood and picked up her own notes, seeing that her temperature was almost back to normal. Checking Osgood’s she frowned, her temperature had been stuck at 100 degrees C since they’d stopped the ice treatment. She dropped the notes and returned to her own bed, moving a box of files onto the floor and stretching out on her side. “Come on Osgood, what’s happening in that giant brain of yours?” 

*********************************************

_“So this is how you maintain a non-Zygon shape?” Osgood looked down at her own hands and then over to the other version of herself. They were standing in a white room, completely empty except for the two women._

_“It’s easier when you don’t think about it too much” Zygella shrugged. “Can you feel the difference now?”_

_Osgood frowned and flexed her hands “It’s like that movie where they get made tiny and injected into someone else’s body to kill cancer”_

_“Humans are weird” Zygella shook her head. “Just concentrate on the foreign bodies in your lungs and…….” she paused, not sure of the correct phrase to describe what she was asking Osgood to do._

_“Smoosh them?” Osgood smiled as she rubbed her index fingers in circles on her thumbs, seeing the tiny invading cells being crushed as she visualised her lungs. “Cool” she lost the visualisation for a few seconds but frowned harder to get it back._

_“Your friend’s here” Zygella was sitting down on the floor, cross-legged and watching her human twin. “You think she’s cute” she cocked her head to the side, grinning as Osgood opened one eye and looked annoyed. “I’m not disagreeing” she held up one hand in protest._

_“She must be worried” Osgood closed her eye and concentrated on removing the last few cells from her lungs. Once she was sure they were all gone she opened her eyes and stared at the Zygon. Sitting down to face her, mirroring her position, she pushed her glasses up her nose. “I sent Kate and the Colonel an email, telling them about you and the Peace” she admitted._

_“I have something similar with my people” Zygella sighed. “You’ll wipe their memories once you wake up?”_

_“I will” Osgood nodded. “I em….when you knew I was sick” she wasn’t sure how to phrase the question. “How did you know, exactly?”_

_“There’s a bond between us Osgood” Zygella watched the blush rise on the face she’d used as her own for several years now. “I wasn’t listening to anything else, I promise” she smiled._

_“You know?” Osgood asked, shifting nervously._

_“Osgood we’re literally having this conversation inside your head” Zygella gestured to the white room surrounding them. “Every time she comes near you or says your name I’m having to put up my strongest mental blocks to avoid seeing what you got up to this weekend”_

_Osgood buried her face in her hands. “I’m sorry” she tried not to think about kissing Kate, about touching her, about feeling her……._

_“Osgood!” Zygella shouted to pull her out of the memories. “For the love of Yoda will you please just wake up already!” she clapped her hands._

*********************************************************

“Kate?” Osgood shook her head in surprise at the loud clap inside her head. Opening her eyes she found them watering in the sudden glare.

“Os?” Kate was by her side in seconds. “Osgood, talk to me” she gripped her hand, turning round to shout over her shoulder. “Windsor!”

“Ssshhhhh” Osgood closed her eyes again, the loud noise and bright lights too much for her.

“Osgood?” Kate said more quietly, stepping back as the doctor and two nurses arrived but refusing to let go of the brunette’s hand.

“Kate” Osgood smiled and squeezed her hand. “Hi”

***********************************************************

Osgood sat up in bed, devouring the plate of toast and mug of tea in front of her. “Sorry” she mumbled around the last few crumbs. 

“I have no idea what happened but she’s healthier than anyone else in this room” Dr. Windsor looked at Kate and Shindi, shaking his head. “Temperature is spot on, no traces of pathogen in her system”

“I feel great” Osgood smiled and finished her tea. “Any chance of another one?” she held the mug up and grinned as the doctor took in. 

“I’ll send another one in, I assume you need to have a private discussion?” he waited for Shindi to nod before leaving them to it.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise how long I’d been unconscious” Osgood looked embarrassed. “It only felt like a few minutes” She waited for the new mug of tea to be delivered by a nurse, smiling her thanks and waiting for the door to close. “Did you get the auto-scheduled email?” she asked, looking at both of them in turn.

“I received it in the early hours of the morning” Shindi realised that Kate wasn’t going to speak, she’d been strangely quiet since the young woman had woken up. “Kate was sleeping so I took her phone, she didn’t read it until an hour or so ago”

“Kate?” Osgood finally noticed the silence from the other woman. “Ma’am?” she tried, not sure whether she wanted her boss to answer when her girlfriend wouldn’t.

“Sorry, yes, miles away” Kate shook her head and blinked several times. “I assume you want to mind-wipe our memory of the emails?”

“Yes, we’ll need to do that eventually” Osgood looked at the Colonel “I’m sorry”

“I understand” he nodded, deciding that he’d had enough of the tension in the room. “I’ll be in my office if you need me for anything” 

Dr. Windsor nodded to the Colonel as he stepped out of the room, dreading the next few seconds. “Dr. Stewart” he cleared his throat. “Your latest test results are back” he handed her a folder with several sheets of paper in them. “As you can see, you’re still carrying the pathogen, I’d estimate that your system would eradicate them all by the weekend”

“Thank you Doctor” Kate nodded and dropped the file onto the bed she’d been using. When he didn’t leave she turned and raised an eyebrow. “There was something else?” she asked.

“It’s a rather delicate matter” he blew out a breath. “It’s not any of my business but..” he started and decided to just get it off his chest. “Your system is completely clear of the pathogen” he smiled at Osgood “No idea why, but it is” he turned back to Kate “While you still have some of them”

“And?” Kate asked, wondering what was causing the usually self-assured doctor to tie himself in knots.

“And” he cleared his throat again. “We can’t risk re-infecting Osgood again, considering her extreme reaction to this infection”

“Agreed” Kate nodded, crossing her arms.

“Oh boy” Osgood had figured out what he wasn’t saying. “He means you can’t kiss me until you’re clear as well”

“Yes, that” the doctor nodded and backed towards the door. “I’m going to suggest you wear a surgical mask when you’re around any of us, Osgood, purely as a precaution”

“OK” Osgood nodded and brushed some crumbs off of the bedcover. “Thank you Dr. Windsor” she smiled at him as he left the room. “What are you most annoyed about?” she asked quietly when Kate hadn’t spoken after nearly a minute. “Please just shout at me or something?” she asked when she still didn’t get a response.

“Why would I shout at you?” Kate finally roused herself and sat on the side of her bed, dangling her legs over the edge. “I’m just relieved that you’re better and awake”

“I have a list of five things you should be shouting at me for, by now” Osgood looked skeptical. “Starting with Zygons and working backward alphabetically”

“Well that is a bit of a shock” Kate slumped a little, the past few days were catching up with her again. “Although I’m 100% sure I spent the weekend with the human Osgood” she shrugged one shoulder, clearly not 100% sure but hoping that the brunette wouldn’t call her on it.

“Kate,” Osgood said softly, untangling her legs from the sheets and standing on slightly shaky legs. 

“Don’t” Kate held out her hand. “I don’t want to make you sick again” she protested.

“You won’t” Osgood ignored the outstretched hand, stepping up to the bed and folding her arms around the blonde’s waist. “I’m sorry I worried you, I was going as fast as I could” she stepped back when she didn’t feel any reciprocal hug. 

“Do you need to rest some more?” Kate started packing up the devices she’d been using to try to track Osgood’s brain activity.

“I’ve been asleep for 29 hours, I need to pee and then shower and maybe we can go over what happened?” she ducked down to catch Kate’s gaze.

“I’ll leave you to it” Kate moved off the bed, avoiding eye contact. “I’ll be in my office when you’re ready”

*******************************************************************

“Osgood!” Carter jogged to catch up with the brunette. “I’m glad you’re better” he saw the face mask dangling from her fingers. “Are you better?” he took a step back.

“I’m fine” Osgood smiled and looked embarrassed. “Thank you for bringing me in” she gave him an awkward one-armed hug. 

“I’m sorry I had to pick your lock” he looked around to make sure there wasn’t anyone else nearby. “I went back and replaced the lock, afterward” he handed her two keys. “This one should be harder to pick” he winked and walked backward “Glad you’re back” 

Osgood stared at the keys in her palm, touched at his thoughtfulness and relieved that her flat wasn’t quite so easy to gain entry to. Sticking both keys in her trouser pocket she continued to Kate’s office. “Ma’am?” she knocked on the door frame softly several minutes later.

“Osgood, come in” Kate smiled nervously. “Still feeling well?” she asked, although the younger woman looked as healthy as she had at the weekend.

“Yes ma’am” she held up the face mask. “Dr. Windsor said I had to wear this but there’s no need” she waited to see what Kate’s reaction would be.

“Tell me what happened?” Kate sat back in her chair, legs crossed and trying to hide the tension she felt by crossing her arms.

“I woke up in the middle of the night and felt awful” Osgood decided a straight retelling of what she knew was the best way to get the obvious questions out of the way first. “I took some pills and went back to sleep but felt even worse when the alarm went off” she frowned at the memory. “I phoned McGillop and was about to call you when I passed out” she waited to see if there was a follow-up question but nothing came so she carried on. “Next thing I’m aware of is some kind of psychic link being opened by the Zygons to find out what was happening with me” she shuffled in her chair. 

“They could tell something was wrong?” Kate tried to keep her voice as flat as possible.

“Apparently so” Osgood shrugged. “I’m not sure how, maybe something to do with the pattern imprint process?” she asked, annoyed that she hadn’t thought to question Zygella further. “She explained how I could fight back against the virus, it’s standard practice if you regularly invade other worlds and come into contact with their new bugs” she licked her lips.

“You were able to cure yourself?” Kate asked quietly.

“It only felt like a few minutes to me but it seems likely that the spike in temperature was when the psychic link began and it settled once I was able to start removing the virus” Osgood stared at the wall just above Kate’s head, she couldn’t bring herself to see the eyes without emotion staring back at her. “She explained that the virus won’t ever affect me again, my body remembers how I removed them and it’s some sort of lifelong immunity” she looked confused. “I’m sorry I didn’t get more information ma’am” Osgood held up the surgical mask. “But it means I don’t need this, I can’t be reinfected by this particular pathogen”

“Let’s not risk it,” Kate said and finally made eye contact. “I don’t want you to get sick again” she swallowed. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Well, I don’t have the infection or fever anymore” Osgood hesitated. “But my girlfriend won’t even hold my hand and I don’t know what I’ve done wrong” she sighed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be unconscious for that long and to worry you”

“I don’t blame you” Kate uncrossed her arms and stood, walking around the desk to lean against the edge. “You are brilliant and managed to cure yourself” she started to reach out but stopped herself. “Tell me about the Zygons,” she said quietly. “You’re going to wipe my memory anyway”

“You know that the Doctor left two of us, one human and one zygon, to protect the peace deal brokered between our races” Osgood sniffed. “My twin picked up, somehow or other, that I was unconscious and sick enough to worry them so she managed to waken my subconscious and show me what to do”

“But your twin was killed” Kate struggled with the word, clearing her throat once she’d said it. “The same day I fell out of a plane” 

“I remember” Osgood sniffled. “I could feel when my twin was disintegrated and I was at the hospital when they brought you in” she shook her head. “By the time you came out of the medically induced coma I’d had to leave to preserve the peace”

“I thought” Kate couldn’t go on. “I know you’ve probably explained this to me several times before you wiped my memory” she breathed deeply and didn’t try to hide the sob. “And I don’t want to hear it again, there’s no point” she wiped her eyes and eventually looked back at the brunette. “It’s just so soon after we finally admitted what we feel and I don’t want to lose you or end up with a twin or…” she gave up talking, trying to control her breathing in an attempt to not break down completely.

Osgood dropped the surgical mask on the floor and stood quickly, wrapping her arms around the blonde and resting her head on her shoulder. “Kate, it’ll never be anyone other than just me, I swear to you” she was relieved to finally feel arms wrapping around her as well, holding them tightly together. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” she murmured over and over against the blonde hair as she held on for dear life.

Kate eventually felt a twinge in her lower back and loosened her hold on the brunette. “Can I kiss you?” she asked as Osgood took a step backward and looked at her. She didn’t get a verbal answer but the kiss Osgood gave her left her in no doubt about who was in her arms. “Hello you” she whispered when Osgood finally pulled back.


	19. Thursday

General Carver shook hands with the Israeli officer and watched the delegation pack themselves into several dark-windowed SUVs. Turning back to the group of people standing behind him he blew out a breath “Good job everyone” he nodded to several of them “Ms. Stewart, with me please” he walked towards the lifts and kept quiet until they were back in his office. Sitting down behind his desk he looked at her as she stood with her hands behind her back. “Does anything ever faze you?” he eventually asked and the surprised blink he got in response caused him to smile. 

“Don’t know what you mean sir” she relaxed a little, fairly sure that she wasn’t about to be given a reprimand.

“Excellent work on fudging the data so well” he leaned back in his chair, signaling that she should sit as well.

“I’m hoping you were the only one who noticed” she ran her hand down the leg of her trousers, brushing off some dust from the preponderance of paper she’d handed out to the meeting attendees.

“I didn’t notice, I just know you well enough to know that you never give a straightforward answer and therefore your appearance of being straightforward must have been a bloody good act” he waited to see how she’d react and finally gave up when she kept her gaze steady and politely interested. “That’s a compliment, Kate” he grinned and shook his head.

“Thank you, sir, I think” she smiled back at him.

“How is everything in London, you said Osgood had recovered?” he checked his watch, making sure he wasn’t keeping her too late.

“Yes sir, the medical team at the Tower managed to come up with a cocktail of antibiotics for her and I seemed to shrug it off fairly quickly” Kate worked hard not to drop eye contact. “It seems they were following an overabundance of caution and protocol in calling me back for quarantine, thankfully it didn’t seem to affect our meeting here too much”

“Always better to be careful” he agreed. He knew that there was something else behind the past few days and her abrupt departure and reappearance a day later but he also knew that he’d find out in an official report when they were able to share it. “I noticed that you’d put in for some leave next month, going anywhere nice?” he asked.

Kate was surprised, the General wasn’t the small talk kind of boss but then she realised that he was keeping her in the office until the Israeli delegation had cleared the airfield. “Nowhere in particular, hoping to get a spot of gardening done” she relaxed.

“And Osgood, is she a keen gardener as well?” he asked innocently and caught the slight tightening of the skin around her eyes that meant he’d surprised her. “Sorry, I don’t get a chance to gossip very often” he smiled.

“I’m afraid you’re not getting a chance now,” she said and then smiled at him to take the sting out of her rebuke. “It’s all very new and I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen” she swallowed nervously. “They did genuinely need me back at the Tower” she worried that he thought she’d used an excuse.

“I never doubted it for a minute” he held up one hand. “I don’t think you’ll be able to keep something like this a secret for very long but nobody will hear about it from me” he assured her. “And nobody will make an issue of it unless they want to deal with your entire team and all of Alastair’s cohorts”

“I’m sure there will be concerns, I’m her boss after all” she tried not to sound so worried.

“I could always have her to report to Vikram but he’d understand only a few more of her sentences than I do!” he laughed at the thought. 

“I’ll suggest it to him when I get back tonight” Kate pointedly glanced at her watch. “Have we given them enough time to take off?” she stood to shake his hand when he nodded.

******************************************

“We should land in thirty minutes or so, can we go straight to the Black Archive when I arrive?” she sipped a gin and tonic as she listened to Osgood’s reply. “Fine, is Carter collecting me?”

“Yes ma’am” Osgood waved as Josh walked past her desk, “He’s just heading out now,” She thought Kate sounded tired but not irritable so that probably meant that the Israeli’s couldn’t prove they’d lied about how they had found a solution for the armour plating. She knew better than to ask about it on a phone call to the plane, as good as their encryption was. “We’ll meet you at the side entrance”

Kate agreed and signed off the call, stretching and trying to remember when she’d last had a decent night’s sleep in her own bed. She remembered being upset on Sunday after Osgood left, and she’d definitely only slept a few hours at the weekend, since their date. Frowning she also remembered not sleeping particularly well the previous Thursday because of nerves so that meant an entire week and while that wasn’t unusual it was usually because of some world-threatening danger and not her reinvigorated love life. Smiling at memories of the weekend she knew she wouldn’t have traded any of them for another hours' sleep and decided that this weekend would be the perfect time to continue the pattern. “Osgood” she called the brunette again. “Sorry to call back, are you in your office?” she asked, closing her eyes and picturing her as she sat behind her tidy desk. “No, nothing in particular, just wanted to hear your voice again” she smiled, “And also, did you want to go out for dinner tomorrow night?”

“Dinner?” Osgood looked confused, she thought Kate had called to discuss work. “Oh you mean dinner” she repeated the word with exactly the same emphasis. “Yes, that would be lovely” 

“I know we sort of left things a bit up in the air on Sunday but perhaps we can talk about it all over Chinese food?” Kate knew the perfect restaurant. “Oh well, actually, you might have to remind me of what we need to talk about” she sat up and opened her eyes.

“Kate” Osgood sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “We’ll target the time period between the email being triggered and you leaving for Geneva again yesterday”

“So I’ll remember everything about last weekend?” Kate checked and felt her smile return on Osgood’s assurance. “Excellent, because that thing you did with your left hand while you were….” she laughed as the outraged shout came down the phone. “We’re coming into land, see you soon” she shut off her phone and leaned her head back, knowing she was in trouble with her girlfriend but delighting in how that sounded.

*******************************************

Kate and Shindi stood side-by-side in the Black Archive, watching as Osgood set out some chairs. “I like what she’s done with the place” Shindi whispered to Kate, gesturing to the cleared space in the middle of the floor and the coffee-table-sized box sitting in the centre of it.

“Country Homes want to do a feature” Kate turned to reply to him just as quietly.

“If I get these calculations wrong you’ll forget how to tie your shoelaces” Osgood sighed without looking at them as she crouched over the table, turning dials and flipping switches. They both stopped talking, Kate biting her lip to prevent the sarcastic reply she had on the tip of her tongue. “Right” Osgood finally stood up and pushed her glasses back up her nose. “Ready?”

“Yes ma’am,” Kate said and sat down meekly on the receiving end of a glare. “How long have you been working on improving this technology” she waved at the new setup.

“A few months” Osgood looked towards the Colonel and adjusted his seat a few inches to the right.

“And you can adjust it to specific time periods?” Kate was genuinely interested but she noticed that Osgood wasn’t looking at her.

“Yes, it was quite easy once we figured out the algorithm” Osgood cleared her throat. “So, it’s the same as you’ve seen used before….”

“Osgood” Kate lifted her hand to stop the information dump. “What aren’t you telling us?” she cocked her head to the side. At the silence that followed she frowned. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Osgood looked up in surprise. “I can’t” she shook her head and started to pace. “I want to tell you, I really do” she had added hand gestures to her pacing. 

“Osgood, how many times have you done this?” Shindi asked, watching the young woman but seeing Kate’s movement as she suddenly stared at him. “How many?”

“Three times and every single time you make me do this” Osgood went from anguished to angry in five seconds. “And each time you’ve apologised after I’ve told you and promised that next time you’re sure it’ll be different” she turned to look at Kate. “And three times I’ve risked wiping your entire memory and that was really hard because you have a lot of UNIT history and knowledge in there” she took a puff from her inhaler.

“I’m sorry” Shindi started to apologise but was interrupted.

“It’s not your fault, Colonel” she smiled at him but turned back to Kate. “Every time before I’ve only worried about wiping out the kind of stuff that could save the planet from exploding but this time……” she took a breath to compose herself. 

“This time I could forget about us” Kate finished quietly and was beside Osgood in two strides. “I trust you Os, you must know that?”

“Yeah, you always say that too” Osgood sniffed and stepped away from the blonde.

“It’s always worked before, you’ve only wiped the memories you needed to?” Kate clenched her fists to stop reaching out to her again. When she got a silent nod in reply she turned and walked back to her chair. “Your genius coupled with the way I feel about you, there’s nothing to worry about, let’s get this over with” she sat across from Shindi. “Sorry Vikram, but at least you’ll forget the soppy stuff soon”

“Let’s hope she can get rid of the nausea as well” he winked and settled more comfortably onto the chair.

“Wait!” Kate suddenly pulled her phone from her pocket and scrolled through it. “Just in case” she blushed as she sent Osgood the details of the table she’d booked for their dinner. 

“Not helping,” Osgood said through gritted teeth before walking behind a screen and triggering the device to wipe the memory of her Zygon duplicate from their minds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter update this time, needed to unpaint the room so that I could get out of my corner!


	20. Sunday

Liz raised her glass of wine and toasted Osgood “Congratulations” she smiled and sipped as the brunette blushed.

“It’s not really a thing” Osgood explained as she drank her water. 

“My girlfriend told me a one month anniversary was a thing!” Gordy seemed disgruntled that he’d been hoodwinked. “Wait, didn’t mum get you a present, because that’s part of it”

“This is what happens when you date a lawyer” Liz laughed “They have a persuasive argument on most things and can end up making you feel guilty”

“Why am I only finding this out now?” Gordy had reverted to a grumpy teenager.

“What are you finding out?” Kate asked as she sat down next to Osgood. “Actually, do I want to know?” she looked worried.

“Gordon’s girlfriend” LIz started to explain when Alex interrupted her.

“Luscious Linda” he offered and received a kick under the table from his brother.

“Yes, Linda” Liz directed her ‘not amused’ glare at Alex before continuing. “Had persuaded him that he had to buy her a present to celebrate their one month anniversary”

“No such thing” Kate looked at Gordy. “Anniversary comes from the latin meaning year, how could it denote the passage of one month?”

“Well, when you say it like that” he looked uncomfortable.

“Honestly, we paid for that Latin tutor for nothing” Kate shook her head but winked at him to take the sting out of her rebuke.

“If it’s not a thing why are we toasting Osgood?” Alex asked, confused as he had zoned out of the conversation at the beginning. 

“We are?” Kate asked in surprise, sitting back and smirking at her girlfriend who was looking uncomfortable.

“I was” Liz explained. “I think lasting a month as your significant other warrants celebration”

“I’m not that bad” Kate scoffed and saw Osgood smiling as she drank her water. “Am I?”

“Not really” Osgood shrugged.

“Hey” Kate complained, nudging her gently before leaning over to kiss her cheek. “Thank you for your great sacrifice”

“Happy mensiversary” Osgood raised her glass and was surprised when both boys groaned. “What?” she looked at them before seeing Liz trying to contain her laughter. “What did I say?” she asked Kate, who was blushing harder than she’d ever seen…..well except for that one time in the shower but she absolutely was not thinking about that while at lunch with her girlfriend’s ex-wife and two sons.

“You are never meeting Linda” Gordy proclaimed seriously. “I need some more male friends, too many women and their women’s stuff in my life”

“I’m with you, fancy a pint?” Alex leaned over to kiss Liz on the cheek as Gordy finished his drink. “I’ve already settled with the waiter, take your time” he whispered to Kate as he leaned over to hug her. “Always a pleasure, Osgood” he lifted her hand and kissed the back of it.

Gordon kissed Liz and Kate on their cheeks before hesitating and then quickly dropping a kiss on Osgood’s cheek as well. “See you soon” he muttered and disappeared off after his brother.

“That was…..strange” Osgood stared at her glass before finishing the contents. 

“Good strange?” Liz asked as she poured Osgood some more water and topped up Kate’s glass with the last of the wine. Osgood nodded and smiled. “Is everything really alright with you both?” 

“Liz” Kate sighed and moved to hold Osgood’s hand.

“I’m not prying, really I’m not” Liz protested. “You look relaxed and happy, just making sure you aren’t faking it”

“She’s not that good” Osgood grinned and looked embarrassed but pleased when Liz laughed.

********************************

“I’m sorry I teased you earlier” Osgood said as they walked home after the family Sunday lunch.

“I seem to remember quite enjoying it” Kate flashed her eyebrows up and down.

“Kate!” Osgood looked around to make sure nobody was nearby or paying attention to them. “I meant what I said to Liz”

“Oh that” Kate smiled at the memory. “You were right, I’m not that good at faking being this happy”

Osgood squeezed her hand and they walked together for a few minutes before she stopped and kept hold of Kate’s hand to pull her round to face her. “Me neither” she said and leaned in to kiss the surprised blonde.

Kate held onto the brunette’s hips lightly and would have quite happily kept kissing her but the wolf-whistle from a passing white van reminded them both of where they were. “Sorry” she said quietly, turning round and automatically remembering the number plate.

“Kate” Osgood whispered and touched her chin to turn Kate’s gaze back to her. “We’re on holiday, remember?”

Kate sighed and blew out a breath “Can’t I at least get Josh to pay them a visit and pretend to be from the tax office?” she pouted.

“Unless someone is invading London I don’t want to hear you mention Josh Carter or anyone else from work” Osgood took a step back and returned to walking back to Kate’s house. 

“Fair enough” Kate took her hand again. “Are you sure you’re alright with staying in London this week?”

“Of course, most other people come to London for a week’s holiday so why would we have to leave?” Osgood pulled a small notebook out of her jacket pocket. “Besides, we have four exhibitions to see, three restaurant recommendations to try out and the weather is supposed to be nice so we can have a picnic one day as well”

“There’ll still be time for lie-ins?” Kate checked and pulled her keys from her coat pocket. “Because as beautiful as I think the Matisse exhibit at the Tate will be, I think you’re even more beautiful”

Osgood stopped on the step as Kate unlocked the front door. “Thank you?” she said uncertainly.

“Trust me, that’s a huge compliment” Kate reassured her and hung up both of their coats. “Did you want something to drink?” she asked, moving to the kitchen.

“Tea would be nice” Osgood followed her, waiting until the kettle was filled and heating up before wrapping her arms around the blonde. “Should I have gotten you a present?” she asked.

“What for?” Kate leaned back against the kitchen counter, comfortably settling the brunette against her.

“Our mensiversary” Osgood almost managed not to smile, but it crept out at the last moment.

“You do know that Liz would probably ask you out if we weren’t an item already?” Kate shook her head. “She loves a smart woman with a wicked sense of humour”

“I know but I hardly think I’m her type” Osgood took her glasses off and snuggled against Kate’s shoulder. “She clearly likes older blondes”

“Hey “ Kate pinched her waist and held the squirming woman in her arms until they had stopped laughing. “I’m glad that you get on with them, I know it was a bit of a baptism of fire when you first met”

“Since you headhunted me everything is usually on fire” Osgood shrugged. “Falling in love with you didn’t make that any worse, I just got better fringe benefits”

“Don’t tell HR or everyone will want them” Kate whispered and kissed Osgood’s head before moving away. “Go and choose a movie while I make the tea”

“I’m going to get changed first” the brunette put her glasses back on and noticed the grin from the blonde. “On my own” she warned and headed upstairs. Her bag was lying on the bed in the spare room and she pulled out her pajamas and fluffy bed socks. Getting changed quickly she hung up the clothes she’d worn to lunch. 

“Very nice” Kate leaned against the doorframe and admired the view. “Is it bedtime already?”

“Behave” Osgood shook her head. “I just wanted to be comfortable”

“I’m not complaining” Kate moved aside to let her past. “Nice pj’s” she walked towards her own room to change. “Are they new, I haven’t seen them before?” 

Osgood stopped in her tracks and cursed under her breath. “I don’t think so” she bluffed and ran her hand over her face before replacing her glasses. “I’m going to setup a movie” she headed downstairs and grabbed her phone from the coffee table, quickly opening an app. “Pajamas I was wearing when Josh brought me into the infirmary” she muttered as she typed herself a note under a heading of “KLS #4”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've fiddled the timing of the Matisse exhibition at the Tate, it was superb but a couple of years ago now so let's call it poetic license to reschedule it for their holiday :)


	21. Monday

Osgood carefully folded the tourist map and put it into her backpack. “Next stops our’s” she looked around at the buildings they were driving past. “It looks different from up here”

Kate shook her head, much more interested in watching the brunette than in the office buildings and shops they were passing. “Beautiful” she murmured and slipped her hand into Osgood’s again as she stood and pressed the button to stop.

“Are you sure it’s alright to get off here?” Osgood asked again as they stepped off the bright red London Tour Bus at Covent Garden. “I know we’re a little further away but well….” she resettled her glasses and looked around to avoid eye contact with the blonde.

“I don’t want to be all that close to St Paul’s either love, but it’s a bit difficult to miss if you want to get to the Tate” Kate oriented herself and set off walking towards the river.

**************************************

Osgood stood at the entrance to the next exhibition space, gazing in wonder at the recreated room decorated with lots of cut out shapes on each wall. The colours were basic, beige as the background and cream for the shapes, but this seemed to make them more impactful as the stark differences between two muted colours drew the eye to the particular shapes. After gazing at the room for a few more moments she turned to watch Kate. The blonde was standing in the middle of the room, slowly turning to see each section of wall from the same vantage point. Her head was cocked slightly to the side and one hand occasionally lifted to tuck strands of her behind her ear. “I love you” Osgood breathed out quietly but the room was empty apart from them and the silence allowed the sentiment to drop into the peace and quiet.

“I love you too” Kate had turned to smile gently at her “What brought that on?” she lifted her hand and held onto Osgood’s when they were standing side-by-side.

“You’re a work of art” Osgood looked at the floor, embarrassed by her sudden outpouring. “Not in a weird, modern way” she hastened to explain.

“Right, old master?” Kate smiled to let her know she was joking. “I’m not a work of art, you just make me happy and this makes me happy-sad” she gestured at the walls surrounding them. “And it’s been so long since I’ve just been able to breathe and enjoy art and even longer since I’ve had anyone to enjoy it with” she looked across at Osgood, feeling her eyes getting a little misty. “I know it’s not really your thing, but thank you for coming with me”

Osgood let go of Kate’s hand and wrapped her arm around her waist, pulling them closer together “My thing is spending time with you” she kissed the blonde’s cheek and turned back to look at the wall in front of them. “So explain to me why I couldn’t do this with some craft paper and blunt scissors?” she pointed at the shapes and smiled as Kate groaned beside her. 

*********************************************

“I do love it when you explain things to me” Osgood smiled as the waitress brought them their tea and scones. 

“Shut up” Kate rolled her eyes and sank down in her chair a little to let her leg rest against the outside of Osgood’s. “The view from up here is magnificent” she sighed.

Osgood looked out at the river Thames as it swirled past underneath the Millenium Bridge. “I prefer the view from the Tower” she held up her hand. “And that wasn’t me talking about work”

Kate shook her head “You’re buying ice creams this afternoon, a bet’s a bet” she layered extra jam onto her scone. 

“If we spend another hour here we should be on time for the guided tour at the Globe” Osgood checked her watch. “If you fancy it we can have an early dinner at the Swan?”

“Perfect” Kate finished off her scone and poured them both more tea. “Just like you” she rested her hand lightly in Osgood’s as they both sipped their tea and looked out at the London skyline, studiously avoiding mentioning St Pauls as the sun glinted off of the dome.


	22. Tuesday

“Now that the final results are in we should be able to deflect the subliminal signals” Osgood closed the folder and looked around the table at the soldiers and scientists.

“Good work,” Kate said, signing the top page and closing her own folder. “Any more?” she took her glasses off and made eye contact with everyone. “Excellent, I’ll be in Dakar for the rest of the week so we’ll reconvene on Monday” she smiled at nods and shuffling of papers as everyone except Osgood and Colonel Shindi left the room. 

“The cars will be ready to leave in an hour” Shindi confirmed and pushed his chair back. “I have some last minute arrangements to make if you don’t need me for anything else ma’am?” he checked and gathered his papers to leave. “Miss” he nodded at Osgood as he left the room.

“He’s just doing that on purpose now” Osgood sighed and took a puff from her inhaler. 

“He is” Kate agreed and watched as the brunette settled her glasses again. “Are you sure you’re alright with me going?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Osgood tried to play the innocent card, even though she knew she did it quite badly now that Kate knew her so well.

“Os” Kate crossed her arms and slouched in her chair. “You spent the end of last week in bed with a bad cold and you’re still struggling with your breathing now”

“I’ll be fine, even without you making me go for extra checkups with Dr. Windsor” Osgood was still quite annoyed about the end of their holiday being spent with a day’s worth of medical tests after her sniffles had graduated to a full blown chest infection. She couldn’t stay mad though, not with Kate looking genuinely worried. “Honestly, I’ve had worse and it’s your job Kate”

“I know, I just wish I could postpone it for a week or two” Kate blew out a breath. “Never mind, I know I’m fussing” 

“You’re not fussing” Osgood waited for the raised eyebrow before adding “....too much” she stood slowly and gathered her papers. “As much fun as it would be to watch you bring the African team down a peg or two, someone has to keep an eye on things here” she smiled as Kate held the door open for her. “Those barnacle samples aren’t going to analyse themselves you know”

“Yes dear” Kate ran her hand through her hair. “Vikram and I are going to try to knock some sense into them and get back here as quickly as we can” she held the lab door open for Osgood to precede her. “There may or may not be a book running on how many hours we’re out of the country” she leaned down to whisper.

“I know, I have a tenner riding on it” Osgood grinned at the shock on Kate’s face. “And no, I’m not telling you what number I picked”

“Fair play” Kate held up her hands. “Just keep your Friday evening free young lady”

“Can’t do that” Osgood dropped the papers onto her desk before turning and leaning on her desk. “I have a hot date with this gorgeous blonde”

Kate placed small kisses on the edge of Osgood’s mouth, before breathing out slowly as they kissed gently. “Look after yourself, I’ll call you later” she murmured before turning and walking away. She knew if she looked back she’d want more contact with the woman she was finding it increasingly difficult to keep her hands off of at work.

*************************************

Osgood scowled at the tank of water in front of her, tapping her short nails against it in frustration. “Come on” she muttered as she tried to figure out what had activated the armour plating. “I’m going to be in real trouble if I have to replicate a volcanic thermal vent under the Tower of London” she scolded the inactive and distinctly uninterested samples of armour sitting at the bottom of the tank.

“Do they ever answer you back?” Josh asked as he peered over her shoulder. “Sorry” he apologised as she jumped in surprise and quickly took a hit from her inhaler.

“Josh!” she finally managed. “What on earth are you doing sneaking up on people?”

“I didn’t sneak, you just weren’t paying attention” he protested but held up his hands to stop her protesting further. “I was looking for you, Dr. Windsor asked me to find you”

“Dr. Windsor?” she put her inhaler back in her pocket “Kate’s only been gone for two hours!”

Josh looked confused “He said it was about your last visit to the Black Archive” 

“Ah” Osgood nodded and closed down her laptop, “Right, I’d best go and see what that’s about” She walked past him and headed for the infirmary, glancing at him as he fell into step beside her. “I’m not telling you” she smiled as he opened his mouth to ask a question.

“Fine” he stopped walking and watched her continue without him. 

“Osgood” the doctor nodded towards his office and closed the door behind the brunette. “Everything alright?” he asked, sitting behind his desk and nervously straightening the paper and pens in front of him.

“Pretty much the same as it was four hours ago when I was here last” Osgood crossed her arms and waited for him to get to the point.

“Right, yes, good” he cleared his throat. “I have some strange test results and I wanted to check with you if you knew anything about them” He waited to see what her reaction was but she was perfectly still and calm. “I took the usual blood tests from Dr. Stewart and Colonel Shindi before they left and they have elevated levels of both dopamine and dynorphin” he stopped, determined that he’d only answer questions from now on. 

Osgood watched him to see if he’d say anything else and when it was apparent that he wouldn’t she calculated how likely it was that he’d figured out what had happened after her stay in the infirmary, deciding that it was medically appropriate to get straight to the point. “You’re thinking there’s a neurotransmitter correlation between those readings and the targeted memory wipe device we’ve started using?” she sat down in the chair in front of his desk and leaned back, rolling her shoulders to release some of the tension that had suddenly accumulated. 

“I do, but I don’t want you to wipe my memory if it’s true” he finished weakly and was relieved to see the young woman smile and shake her head at him.

“If it is being caused by an alleged mind wipe then it's an unforeseen by-product” she focussed on the middle-distance and concentrated for a minute. “What do you know about the precise operation of the mind wipe technology we use?” she decided to start at the beginning. 

“Let’s pretend I know nothing at all,” he said dryly, ignoring the voice in his head that wondered how many times he’d asked a question like this and whether his mind had been wiped as a result.

“The mind-wipe device doesn’t erase memory engrams, that’s too broad” Osgood pulled some paper towards her and started scribbling down various calculations. “It was discovered that it’s better to make people forget where they’ve stored the memories than the actual memories themselves” She looked up to see if he was still with her and was delighted to see that he looked genuinely interested. “So we make the forgetting easier rather than making the remembering harder”

“That’s…….” he finished visualising what she was saying in his head before shaking it gently. “That’s brilliant” he took the paper from her and looked through the formulas and calculations. “Actually it’s genius…..” he looked back up and watched her blush slightly and suddenly find his floor very interesting. “You did this” it wasn’t a question.

“The Doctor did the heavy lifting and our team had some oblique help from quite a few neuro-physicists to make it as precise a process as we possibly could” Osgood crossed her arms. “It could be the raised levels of dopamine and dynorphin would be a side-effect, they’d cancel each other out if they were present equally” she frowned as she visualised the neurotransmitters interacting with the neurons in the brain. “What are you going to do with this information?”

He remembered her determined glare when she’d ended up on his ward after the slime mould spore incident and he thought that had been the most surprised he’d be, but the sudden calm and dead-eyed stare that she was giving him now was unnerving. “I’m passing it on to you,” he said calmly. “If you need me to destroy the results from their records I will and we’ll make sure NOT to test for those levels again when we do a standard blood screening”

“They might be useful as an indicator of an underlying problem and I don’t want to undermine your medical authority” she took a hit from her inhaler, partly because she felt she needed it but also to subliminally remind him that he was the doctor and she was a patient. “But it would be useful if you could suppress these results for a day or so after their return, just to let me figure out what we need to report to Greyhound 1”

“I can do that” he promised. “When they return I’ll do a standard blood screening as well, do you want the results from that one to see what the levels have done in between?”

“Yes please” Osgood stood and stuck her hand out. “Thanks for coming to me with this, can I ask one more favour?”

“Of course” he was relatively sure it wasn’t going to be anything too onerous.

“If you ever find those levels matching in my blood sample, please don’t tell me” she waited for him to figure out that she didn’t want to know if she’d been mind-wiped and he nodded his agreement once he’d got there.

******************************************************

 

Osgood sat up in bed with her book propped on her raised knees. She glanced at the bedside clock and sighed when it had only moved three minutes further since she’d last checked. The book was interesting but she was tired and didn’t want to fall asleep before talking to Kate. Just as she was about to give up and put her light out her phone lit up with a message asking if she was still awake. “Hey, you” she smiled and sighed happily as Kate answered her phone.

“I’m sorry, I forgot we were an hour behind” Kate dropped her bag on the hotel room table and shuffled out of her coat one-handed. “Are you in bed already?” she kicked off her shoes and pulled her shirt out from her waistband before sitting on the edge of the bed. “I am, just sat down on it” 

“You were working late, were they being very obnoxious?” Osgood worried about Kate but this time it wasn’t aliens or invasions she was up against but rather the misogynistic UNIT team based in Dakar who had been difficult ever since Kate became chief scientific officer. 

“I think one of them said something quite rude about Colonel Shindi being second in command to a woman without realising he could understand that particular dialect” Kate smiled at the memory. “He answered them back in their own language and made it very clear they could either adjust their attitude or their memories, after that they didn’t seem in so much doubt about why we were there” she chuckled. “An eventful day all round” Kate tried to hide the yawn but it escaped anyway.

“Did you get some dinner?” Osgood turned out her light and slid down underneath her quilt, shuffling until she managed to reach optimum comfort levels when her girlfriend wasn’t in bed beside her.

“Would you believe we had pizza delivered to the office” Kate shook her head, wondering yet again whether the ability to get a pizza or a latte pretty much anywhere in the world was indicative of a most effective, stealth global invasion. “Give me a second to brush my teeth and we can get into bed together” she mumbled, setting the phone down but not hanging up the call.

Osgood listened to her pottering around the room, unzipping her overnight bag and rattling around in the bathroom. When the tap stopped running she knew Kate was almost ready for bed. “What are you wearing?” Osgood asked as Kate’s breathing suddenly becoming audible again indicated that she’d picked up the phone.

“One of the old army t-shirts you like” Kate moved the pillows around until she had the perfect combination under her head. “Oh wait, was that where I should have said a negligee or something?”

“No” Osgood smiled at the tiny amount of worry in Kate’s tone. “Anyway, any positive effects from the very nice visuals would have been overridden by my worry about why you’d take silky underwear and nighties with you when you were on a work trip with the Colonel!”

“Os” Kate whined a little. “Are you feeling better love?”

“I am, Dr. Windsor finally admitted that he was going to be sending you daily updates so you already know that I am"

“It’s purely from an operational point of view” Kate tried to protest. “I need to know my scientific genius is functioning or else we’re left with Carter running the show”

“Perish the thought” Osgood muttered before yawning widely enough to cause her jaw to crack. “I think you spoiled me last week” she snuggled even further into the cocoon of her bed.

“Hardly” Kate switched off her light and stretched out underneath the sheet, watching the fan in the ceiling lazily circulate the still warm air in the room. 

“I had you all to myself” Osgood smiled at the memory. “First time we’ve spent more than a couple of nights together in a row”

“Was it?” Kate asked, frowning as she tried to think of another occasion and coming up blank. “I suppose it was” she admitted.

“Makes it harder now we’re apart so soon” the brunette struggled to keep her eyes open, eventually giving in and closing them.

“I’ll make it up to you at the weekend” Kate promised, almost whispering as she listened to Osgood’s breathing even out. “Sweet dreams my love”


	23. Saturday

“Honestly, it’s fine” Osgood sighed. “You’re wasting more time apologising for missing last night!”

“Right, I’m done, I promise” Kate held up her hands. “Just the bill please” she smiled at the waiter and looked back at her girlfriend. “So I have a bit of a surprise for tomorrow if you’re up for it?”

Osgood raised an eyebrow in suspicion “Not if it's climbing to the top of Tower Bridge, because I’m still not doing it” She watched the waiter come back towards their table, frowning as he carefully flattened his hair before giving Kate his best grin and the bill with a flourish. “I’ll get this” Osgood raised the eyebrow again and lifted the receipt, glancing at it before handing him cash to cover it with a tip. “Thank you” she waited for him to get over the disappointment of not getting to chat to the blonde again.

“I was supposed to be taking you out to lunch” Kate complained as she held Osgood’s jacket for her. “Even in my younger days, he’d never have had a chance” she whispered into the brunette’s ear as she leaned forward to hug her.

“Uh huh” Osgood wriggled back into Kate’s embrace briefly before stepping away and taking her hand, managing not to look over her shoulder as they walked out into the weak sunshine.

“So after Vikram gave him his best Sandhurst glare….” Kate was laughing as she told the story. “He turned to me, all sweetness and light, and asked if I had anything to add” she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “It took a couple of seconds for me to be sure that I wasn’t going to just burst out laughing before I suggested that the pompous little snot could perhaps get us a coffee”

“You’re terrible” Osgood laughed along with the blonde as they headed towards the Tower. “I’m sorry we have to go to work today” she pulled Kate closer to her. “I just need to check the results of the experiment I left running last night”

“I don’t mind, so long as we’re together” Kate lifted their joined hands and kissed Osgood’s knuckles. “I have a couple of calls to make anyway since we didn’t get back in till close to midnight last night”

“Come and find me in my lab when you’re done” Osgood stopped walking and looked around at the tourists queueing to get into the Tower. “Love you” she mumbled before kissing her slowly, hearing Kate moan as her hands slid into her hair. 

“I’ll be quick” Kate promised, suddenly not all that interested in updating the Minister on their African trip. She walked towards the main entrance, flashing her badge and winking at the Yeoman Guard who was corralling a group of American children. Ducking in through a secure side door she walked briskly to her office, dumping her waxed jacket over the visitor’s chair and settling down behind her desk. Pulling her phone from her pocket she scrolled through the contacts and used her desk phone to call someone, dropping her glasses on the desk as she pushed away from the desk and stretched her legs out. “Keith?” she listened to the person who had answered her call. “I’m well thanks, and yes, the tank helped us out a lot”

*************************

Osgood yawned as she waited for the sensor array terminal to spit out the results from the last 18 hours of testing. She hadn’t slept all that well the previous night, despite assuring Kate that she wasn’t annoyed that they hadn’t had a chance to spend the evening together. What she hadn’t admitted to the blonde was something that she was only now starting to admit to herself, that she missed having Kate in bed beside her every night and waking up to her every morning. Their week off work had been relaxing and, chest infection aside, she had loved the easy way they fell into step in their daily routines. She’d never had someone come to mean so much in so short a time, it was only six weeks since she’d been jealous meeting Kate’s ex-wife for the first time and now she could barely remember how she’d filled her time outside of work before Kate was in her life. Pulling her notebook from her desk drawer she opened it to the last entry she’d made. Taking a pencil she worked her way down the list of ‘pros/cons’ that she’d drawn up while sitting on the Salt Tower, adding quite a few extra items to the ‘pros’ list. 

Kate finished her report, the details of the last day easily added to the work she’d started on the flight home. Sending the email she assured the Minister that the Embassy in Senegal wouldn’t have any further problems with the local UNIT team. When she was finished she logged off and decided that the other calls she had planned to make could wait until Monday. Grabbing her waxed jacket she set off towards Osgood’s lab.

“Yes mum, I promise I’m feeling much better” Osgood slouched in her chair. “I’m going out for a walk this afternoon and…..” she managed to sigh at another interruption. “Yes, I’ve got a scarf and I’ll keep warm” She put her finger to her lips as Kate appeared in her doorway. “No mum, you don’t need to come down, I’m going to be busy this week” By now she had her hand across her eyes, counting to ten in her head to keep her frustration at bay. 

Kate watched the young woman as she listened to a presumably well-known diatribe from her mother. Sitting in a chair she pulled her phone from her pocket and quickly typed a message.

Osgood felt the vibration in her pocket and automatically pulled her phone out to check for a message. “What, yes mum, I’m listening” she reassured her mother and glared at Kate who was trying to look innocent. Typing a reply on her phone she sent her message and watched Kate nonchalantly pull her phone from her jeans pocket and read the message. “I’ve been sleeping well, getting lots of exercise too” Osgood winked at Kate and returned to concentrate on her parent’s latest question. “I know, I love you too and give dad a hug from me” she waited a few seconds before hanging up the call. “You’re terrible” she pointed a finger at Kate.

“Sleeping well and getting lots of exercise?” Kate asked, raised both eyebrows.

“My mother doesn’t need to know exactly what kind of aerobic exercise I choose” Osgood pointed out as she dropped a few reports into her messenger bag and switched off the lights in her office.

“Well, your last text suggested an interesting exercise regime” Kate whispered as they walked towards the exit.

“You never did tell me what the surprise was” Osgood knew she needed to get them onto another topic of conversation before she pulled her boss into one of the empty offices and made good on her promises.

“Surprise?” Kate’s eyes were crinkled in confusion. “Oh right, I completely forgot” she held open the door and squinted in the sudden sunlight. “Remember the contact who got us access to the large tank?”

“At Pinewood?” Osgood patted her pockets until she found her glasses, swapping the prescription sunglasses for her normal pair, “You want to send the divers down again?

Kate stopped walking, slipping her hands into her jacket pockets and watching the brunette walk a few more steps before she realised that she was on her own. “Your mind is a very mysterious place”

“OK” Osgood watched her, not understanding why Kate had stopped walking but prepared to wait to find out.

“Nothing else, just mysterious” Kate shook her head and walked back to stand beside the brunette. “The surprise I have for tomorrow is that Keith has agreed to give us access to one of the private viewing screens”

“What are they showing?” Osgood took her hand, holding tight to avoid them being separated as two tourist coaches emptied around them.

“Whatever you want” Kate grinned slowly. “He sent me a list of everything they have in storage and we have four hours to fill so you can choose when we get home”

Osgood blinked several times, taking her sunglasses off and squinting slightly to see Kate’s face “I’d like that very much” she said quietly, with a strange look on her face. “Come on then” she pulled Kate’s hand and replaced her sunglasses, trying to make a path through the confused and jetlagged visitors.

**************************************************

“Right, that’s your final, final choice?” Kate hovered her finger over the tablet, waiting for confirmation from her girlfriend. “Done” she sent the email before putting the tablet down and pulling Osgood closer. “Now I seem to remember someone offering me some aerobic exercise earlier” she kissed the brunette.

Osgood moved away from the addictive kisses and put her fingers against the lips as Kate started to ask if something was wrong. “Earlier, when we left the Tower” Osgood lifted her fingers away as the felt Kate’s tongue licking them. “Just two minutes, please?”

Kate realised that Osgood was serious and sat further back, frowning a little. “Go ahead love, I’ll behave”

“Thank you” Osgood captured her hand, to show that this wasn’t anything to worry about. “When we left and you were telling me about tomorrow’s surprise, did you mean what you said?”

Kate tilted her head, trying to remember exactly what they’d been talking about. “We’re definitely going to Pinewood tomorrow, I wouldn’t joke about that”

“No, I know, that’s not what I meant” Osgood sighed, she had known she'd need to spell this out but still wasn’t prepared to do anything other than just ask and hope for the best. “You said we could choose which movies to watch when we got home”

“And we just did” Kate pointed to the tablet, starting to get worried that Osgood seemed to have forgotten something they had done only a few minutes before. “Are you OK?” she captured Osgood’s hand in both of her own.

“I knew I’d mess this up” Osgood sighed and pulled her hand free, moving back a little and pinching the bridge of her nose. “You said we’d decide when we got home…...here” she waved around the room. “And I’d been thinking that I missed you this week because we’d practically been living together last week” she looked up to see whether Kate was following but she looked bewildered and worried. “It wasn’t just about the sex” she tried to explain further and saw the worried look start to clear from the blonde’s face. “It turns out I like falling asleep with you beside me and waking up with you still there, brushing our teeth together and deciding what to make for dinner” 

“Me too” Kate risked an interruption and stretched her arm along the back of the sofa, letting the tips of her fingers disturb the brunette’s hair.

“I know it’s only been six weeks so this is completely ridiculous but….” she ran out of steam, finally looking back up to see whether Kate was even more confused.

“You can rent your place out, we can hire a van next weekend and the boys will help us move your things” Kate leaned to lift the tablet onto her lap. “How big will the van have to be?”

“What?” Osgood knew she’d started the conversation but this rapid turnaround from confusion to planning without a question being asked or answered had her flummoxed. 

“We’re closer to work here, or did you want me to move in with you?” Kate looked around the room, trying to gauge how many boxes she’d need for her books. 

“Wait” Osgood held up her hand, stilling Kate’s where she was typing on the tablet. “Wait, you’re OK with us living together?”

“I’m a fifty-three-year-old divorced mother of two, who has fallen in love again when I never thought it possible” Kate put the tablet carefully on the floor. “You’ve made me happier than I have any right to be and I don’t want to waste another day with us under different roofs” she lifted Osgood’s hand and kissed the back of it. “I know I’m not much of a catch but I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to keep you safe and happy if you’ll let me?”

“Only if you’ll let me do the same” Osgood grinned “Well safe, happy and completely shagged out” she pushed forward, surprising the blonde and ending up lying half on top of her as she pinned her down. “I bloody love you Kate Lethbridge-Stewart”


	24. Sunday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, this would be my idea of the perfect Sunday and it took me too long to narrow the movies down to just two!

“Mmmm” Osgood moaned, her hands sliding underneath Kate’s sweater. “We should….” she gave up trying to talk and forgot what she was trying to say when Kate’s hand on the back of her head tugged slightly to get her lips back into contact.

“I’d say get a room but you already have” a sardonic voice sounded over the speaker. 

Kate groaned and pulled away from the brunette “Bog off Keith” she shouted at the ceiling, not able to see the person who was talking to them from another room.

“You kiss your girlfriend with that mouth?” came the reply before the screen in front of them flickered into life. “Enjoy the movies and I’m switching off the internal cameras so you only need to worry about taking your clothes with you at the end”

Kate held up a very eloquent single finger and she heard the chuckle as Keith saw it before disabling the cameras. “Sorry about that” she looked sheepishly at Osgood.

“Nothing to apologise for” Osgood assured her, snuggling into her side and taking a drink from her beer. “I’ve never been caught snogging in a cinema before” she admitted with a blush.

“I’m rather hoping that’s because you’ve never been actively engaged in snogging in a cinema before” Kate grinned and sipped from her gin and tonic. “Me neither” she whispered at the brunette’s exasperated sigh before settling down to watch the movie.

********************************

“They don’t make them like that anymore” Osgood sighed as they sat in the back of a taxi and headed back to central London.

“People seem more interested in blockbusters with lots of computer effects” Kate agreed, the gin giving her a pleasant buzz. “If you’d chosen To Catch a Thief we’d have seen some awful special effects but it’s still a wonderful movie”

“I know what to get you for Christmas” Osgood kissed the blonde’s cheek, mindful of the taxi driver who kept glancing at them in his rearview mirror. “We can have lazy weekends in the winter watching old movies and drinking mulled wine and hot chocolate”

“You had me at lazy weekends” Kate grinned. “So dinner somewhere near the house or takeout?”

***************************************

Osgood yawned as she pulled her t-shirt on and sat down on the edge of the spare bed. “Hi mum” she smiled as her mother launched immediately into a series of questions about why she hadn’t replied earlier. “I was at the cinema this afternoon and forgot to switch my phone back on when I left” she lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. “His Girl Friday and The Philadelphia Story” she answered and laughed at the sudden silence. “Someone at work knows a local cinema that shows old movies” she supplied and listened to a five-minute explanation of why the old movies were better than the noisy things the youngsters watched nowadays. “I’m fine, just settling down for a quiet night with a book before work tomorrow”

Kate turned off the shower and wrapped herself in the warm towel hanging beside her. Five minutes later she had brushed her teeth and was slipping into her pajamas. Looking around the room she saw her boots from the day before lying in a pile under her chair and when she bent to pick them up she found the underwear she’d managed to lose. “There you are” she sighed and put her boots away before throwing her knickers into the laundry bag. Grinning she remembered why her clothes had been discarded in a hurry and decided to find her girlfriend to see if she was feeling up to a reenactment. “Os?” she called as she walked towards the spare room before stopping in the doorway as Osgood waved her hand at her frantically. 

“What, no mum” Osgood looked apologetically at the blonde. “It’s just something on the telly” Kate cocked her head a little and watched the brunette who now wouldn’t make eye contact with her. Shrugging she turned and walked downstairs, putting the kettle on and tidying up the kitchen from their earlier takeout dinner.

“I’m sorry” Osgood leaned in the doorway to the kitchen.

“Cuppa?” Kate held up a mug. “Nothing to be sorry for,” she said as she turned back to watch the kettle not boiling quickly enough.

“There is and I am” Osgood cursed the lack of pockets in her pajamas as she struggled to work out what to do with her hands, eventually deciding to cross her arms. “I panicked”

“Why?” Kate asked, turning and leaning against the kitchen counter.

“It was my mum on the phone,” Osgood said, expecting that to explain everything but realising that Kate’s lack of movement showed it hadn’t. “She’d called earlier and I hadn’t noticed the missed call until I was getting changed”

“Is everything alright, with your parents?” Kate wasn’t sure what was happening but was prepared to wait for Osgood to explain it.

“Yes, just the usual” the brunette shrugged. “I was telling her about the movies and then she heard your voice….”

“And that caused you to panic?” Kate didn’t like where this was going. 

“I haven’t told them” Osgood admitted quietly. 

“That you’re seeing someone?” Kate switched the kettle off, the noise was distracting as Osgood’s voice got quieter.

“That I’m seeing someone who is a woman” Osgood had been staring at the floor by the time she was able to get the sentence out and waited for Kate to react. After several seconds of silence, she risked looking up and saw Kate frowning, her own arms crossed as well now. 

“They don’t know…..?” Kate asked, trying to think if they’d had the ‘coming out to your parents’ discussion and then decided that they obviously hadn’t.

“Three months ago the only people who knew were a couple of friends from university that I don’t really see any more” she gulped and took a deep breath. “So when Liz, you, Gordy, Alex and everyone at work figured it out I didn’t really need to say it out loud”

“You’ve never said it….?” Kate tried to work out how long it would be before she would be able to finish a sentence again.

“Never had to say it or even actually open the closet door” Osgood blinked, now that she thought about it that was actually quite strange. “And now I’m saying it out loud it’s ridiculous”

“For someone who’s moving in with her girlfriend of two months, it is rather” Kate shook her head. “So your family don’t know that you’re gay?”

“I have no idea, it never really mattered before” Osgood stepped into the kitchen, leaning against the back of a chair. “My family life is so separate from my work life and I only get to see them every few months when I can get out of London”

“Work-life?” Kate was back to short sentences again.

“I meant being in London” Osgood stepped around the kitchen table, standing in front of the confused older woman. “Because you’re a part of my family now, you and Liz and Gordy and Alex” she reached out her hands, not taking it for granted that Kate wanted to hold her hand.

“You don’t have to come out because of me, we can figure something out” Kate finally realised how little she knew of Osgood outside of their work and recent free time together.

“That would make it a little awkward when they visited me and I’m living with my outrageously hot girlfriend” Osgood allowed a small smile to lift the edges of her mouth. “Who also happens to be my boss and the daughter of a man my father served with” 

“Mmm I’m not sure even our ability to come up with cover stories would help you there” Kate admitted and pulled the brunette into a hug. “Still, it’s up to you when and how you tell them once you decide you will”

“I know” Osgood sighed “Or….” she closed her eyes and held Kate a little more tightly. “We could just do this a lot when they visited and they’d eventually get the message”

“Darling” Kate kissed her head “You’re 41 years old and help save the planet fairly regularly” she pulled back and lifted Osgood’s chin gently. “What exactly are you afraid of?”

“They’re my parents” she swallowed and willed the tears to stay hidden. “I think they’ll be fine, I mean my dad will love you”

“The only person who needs to love me is you” Kate ducked down to make eye contact again. “Keep the flat and they can visit you there, I won’t mind” she gave Osgood the ‘get out of jail free’ card.

“No” she frowned. “It’s ridiculous and I’m happier than I’ve ever been so they should know that you’re to blame for that” she frowned harder. “I didn’t mean blame”

“I know what you meant” Kate kissed her forehead and waited for the frown lines to disappear. “I’ll support you in whatever you decide” she promised. “You should ask Liz what happened when I met her parents for the first time” she laughed and leaned down slowly to kiss the puzzled brunette.

“I ruined today, it was going so well” Osgood nuzzled the blonde’s neck, careful not to leave any marks that would be visible to anyone else.

“How can it be ruined when we’re holding each other and you’re…..” Kate tilted her head and held her breath for a few seconds “.......kissing me there” she managed to finish. She heard Osgood mumble something that sounded like she was offering to make it up to her. Putting her hands on her girlfriend’s hips she pushed gently to separate them. “Did you really want tea?” she asked over heavier than usual breathing. Seeing the brunette straighten her glasses and shake her head she held out her hand. “Let’s have an early night” she watched for any uncertainty and was relieved when her fingers were grasped and she was pulled towards the stairs.


	25. Thursday

Kate leaned against the back of the scaffold staging, holding one hand over her ear and using the other to key on the microphone “In position” she shouted, hearing some static in reply but unable to make out anything more significant. “Bloody marvelous” she muttered as she looked around, settling her shoulder holster under her waxed jacket again.

“Go!” Osgood shouted and when nobody moved she punched Josh’s arm and he signaled the rest of the team to move out. There wasn’t anyone else to blame for the ear-bleeding volume around them, she’d been the one to find out that it was being used to carry the subliminal signals that were being used to hide the invasion. Watching the tablet she saw the various small blobs of colour moving around the site, eyes focussing yet again on the stationary green blob nearest to the stage.

Kate watched as the group of soldiers mingled with the public, amused at the hastily thrown together casual clothes that looked a little too pressed and clean. Hoping that the details would be missed by the majority of the crowd she nodded as Carter walked past her. When he finally leaned casually against the large trailer on the other side of the stage she took one more look around before moving to the small booth containing the scruffy sound engineer. He looked up hopefully and then frowned as the expected groupie turned out to be an older woman wearing the kind of clothes his mum wore when she was gardening. She stepped around the table holding the electronics that were controlling the amplifiers and speakers onstage. As his disappointment turned to a look of interest she shook her head before catching him with a right uppercut that dropped him where he stood. Stepping over his body she was very tempted to just pull the plug but looking over the giant mixing desk with three monitors in front of her she realised she didn’t even know where the off-switch was. Finding the socket she was looking for she plugged in the gizmo Osgood had given her and keyed her microphone to send three quick pulses.

Osgood saw the signal spike as her encrypted programme started working to subtly adjust the modulation frequency on the speakers. Her ears couldn’t hear any difference but that could be because the alleged music had sounded like a scrap-yard exploding for the past ten minutes. “There, I’ve got you” she muttered as the two signals she was watching suddenly matched each other. Tapping away at her laptop for several minutes she finally sent a one-word message to all of the connected phones on her list.

Kate felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and glanced at the screen, tucking it back safely as she retrieved Osgood’s hardware and unclipped her holster. Peering around the edge of the tarpaulin surrounding the sound desk she spotted several of the troops moving towards Josh’s position. Stepping out she narrowly avoided a drunk who was weaving across her path, ignoring his assurances that he loved her, instead thinking back to Osgood saying the same thing in a much more sincere way earlier that morning. Shaking her head she realised it had actually been two days ago, the latest debacle having overtaken them just before lunch on Tuesday. “I really hate Tuesdays” she muttered and pulled her gun from her holster, holding it at her side as she finally reached the side of the trailer. “On my mark” she signaled to the others and counted down from three with her left hand.

Osgood watched the blobs all converging on the trailer, the heat signatures inside it hardly moving around at all. Glancing at the clock she waited with her finger poised over the enter key on her laptop, when the second hand reached 12 she hit it before tidying up the space around her and stowing her laptop in her messenger bag. Climbing back into the front seat she settled beside Colonel Shindi, nodding to him and fastening her seatbelt as he started the engine and pulled out carefully into the crowded space between haphazardly parked vans. Glancing across she bit her lip, trying not to laugh. No matter how many times she saw the Colonel dressed in leathers and wearing a red bandana she still struggled to stop herself from laughing out loud. It would be many hours later before she finally thought to wonder how he had the outfit to hand to wear at such short notice. 

Carter put his hand on the door handle and, without seeming to exert any effort, broke it off. Throwing it underneath the trailer he slowly eased the door open, slipping inside and drawing his gun at the same time. Signaling left with his hand he watched his team fan out amongst the unconscious bodies, disarming them and securing the sleeping aliens with handcuffs. “Ma’am” he turned to Kate and leaned in towards her “Ten hostiles confirmed”

“Very good” she stepped fully into the trailer and looked around. “Let’s get out of here before they wake up” She checked her watch and stood next to the young man’s ear, talking directly into it. “The engineers will find the fault in about two minutes, I’d rather not be here when that god-awful racket starts up again”

“Ma’am” Carter nodded and waited for her to slip back outside again before making sure that the trailer was disconnected from the site services. “Move out” he ordered and settled in to watch over the aliens.

Kate stretched her neck and moved her jaw, she was fairly sure that her hearing wouldn’t be back to normal for days. Clipping her holster closed she settled her jacket to properly conceal it and set out to the improvised roadway a few hundred yards away. She spotted the beaten-up VW campervan as it crawled towards her and grinned, it was one of the rather more unlikely vehicles that UNIT owned but was much more suitable for this assignment than Bessie would have been. “OK?” she asked as she climbed into the backseat and slid the door shut. 

Osgood held up a thumb and turned back to the front, there wasn’t much point making conversation as they would all have impaired hearing for several more hours. She winced as the sound engineers found the glitch she’d programmed and activated earlier, returning power to the speakers and amplifiers and the eardrum-rattling music to the grumbling festival attendees. Shrugging apologetically at the Colonel’s sigh of annoyance she settled down for a slow journey back to the Tower, even with the UNIT upgrade the campervan would top out at 60 miles per hour.

*****************************************

Dr. Windsor put the otoscope down on the instrument tray and added some notes to the folder before handing it over to the nurse waiting beside him. “Is that any better?” he asked loudly and slowly.

“Not much” Kate shouted back before winking at him. “Will the ringing go soon?” she asked more seriously.

“In a day or two,” he said and turned as Osgood walked into the exam room. “You here for your checkup?” he asked loudly.

“I’m fine” she assured him in her normal voice. “I was wearing earplugs for most of it and was furthest away” she turned towards the blonde, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m fine” Kate tried to sound reassuring but the effect was ruined as she was shouting loud enough for people in the corridor to hear her.

Shaking her head Osgood turned to the doctor, smiling at his attempt to hide his laughter. “Are you finished with her?” On his nod of agreement she held out her hand and waited for Kate to take it. “Come on you”

“I need to call Geneva” Kate walked beside Osgood as they headed back to her office. She stopped in confusion when Osgood stopped and scribbled something in a notebook before handing it to her. Fishing her glasses out of her pocket she read what it said _“They can probably hear you now, just email them your written report”_. Pushing her glasses into her hair she looked up at the smiling brunette. “Oh, alright” she tried to say it quietly but from the indulgent shake of Osgood’s head she guessed it was still fairly loud.

*********************************************

“Kate Stewart’s phone” Osgood answered the mobile phone that Kate held out to her without looking at the name on the screen. “Oh hi, Liz” she realised that Kate had seen who was calling and handed the phone to her on purpose. “No, everything’s fine, a bit of a long story but she can’t hear very well right now” Osgood explained quickly, not wanting to worry the redhead. “Definitely temporary, can I give her a message?”

Kate watched Osgood nodding and smiling as she chatted with her ex-wife. The problem with not really being able to hear terribly well was that your internal voices suddenly became the only things you could hear and hers were all talking about how strange it should be that the last two women she’d slept with were quickly becoming friends. Returning her attention to her monitor she tried to finish her report. By the time Osgood had rung off and was handing her the phone again, she was running a final spell check. “Alright?” she raised an eyebrow and pressed send on the email after attaching the report. A notification of an incoming message pinged and she frowned as Osgood’s name popped up. Glancing up she looked at the brunette who merely pointed at the larger monitor and waited for Kate to read what she’d sent. _“Liz and the boys are fine, she was just checking that we were still OK for dinner next week”_

Osgood glanced down at her own laptop as Kate replied, laughing at the unorthodox method of communication when they were sitting across a desk from each other. _“And are we?”_ she read before replying. _“We are”_ she read out as she typed, it seemed strange to not talk even if Kate couldn’t hear her properly. _“I thought we could maybe tell them about my move”_

Kate smiled fondly, remembering again that they would be living under the same roof in a few weeks. Smiling at the brunette she shut down her computer, tapping her watch to ask how much longer Osgood would be. The brunette snapped her laptop shut and slid it back into her messenger bag. Slipping her jacket on she stood beside the door to wait for Kate to leave with her. Kate smiled at her eagerness and switched off her office light, slipping an arm through her girlfriend’s as they walked towards the exit.


	26. Friday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nearing the end, maybe another couple of chapters to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With thanks to ncruuk for helping me out of the quicksand I'd written myself into, this makes a lot more sense now!
> 
> Bonus points on this one if you can spot the random reference to The Late Show in the US :)

“I’m not sure being able to hear again is actually helping much” Kate complained, still slightly louder than normal but a lot better than the previous day.

“We should be able to get the translator to figure out their language in an hour or so” Osgood sat hunched over her laptop, chewing on a pencil as she scowled at the readouts from the translation matrix. “You need to keep him talking”

“He doesn’t seem to be particularly chatty” Kate snarked before returning to the room containing one of the aliens from the music festival. “Lovely weather we’re having” she sat down across the table from the grumpy looking alien. He immediately started gesticulating without making any audible noise. She watched his arm and hand movements, trying to see a pattern or hear the extremely high pitched noises, but aware that the computer programme that was monitoring him would be much more successful. When he stopped moving after several minutes she tried to look menacing before leaning in towards him and saying, in a deeper voice, “Who should replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal?”

Carter was sitting beside Osgood, watching the pantomime in the interrogation room and laughing at Kate’s jokes. “It’s not often we get to see her having this much fun” 

“She’s not having fun, she’s frustrated because the translator hasn’t worked yet and the sarcasm rises by about 10% every 15 minutes” Osgood grumbled.

Kate stood abruptly, causing the alien to stop making hand gestures and jump in his seat. “You can tell me, what were you hoping to gain by invading in a smelly old tour bus?” she forced her hands through her hair and looked up to the camera in the ceiling. “Os?” she asked plaintively.

“Nearly there ma’am, not much longer” Osgood switched off the microphone and sat back watching symbols flicker across the screen. “You know it won’t go any faster with you staring at me” she muttered, aware of Josh watching her.

“I’ve never seen you like this before,” he said quietly. 

“Josh you’ve seen me frowning and hunched over a laptop hundreds of times” Osgood glanced at him. 

“I have” he agreed. “But this time you’re happy frowning”

“I don’t have time to figure out what on earth you’re talking about” she turned back to the screen and tried to ignore his smile. “I know what the Colonel means now” she tried to glare at him but he just smiled back at her.

Kate had given up and was dealing a packet of cards she’d pulled from her trouser pocket. “Let’s see how sophisticated your society really is” she gestured for the alien to pick up the cards. Slowly putting one card face up between them she pointed at the cards he held until he picked one and laid it next to hers. They continued like this for several rounds until she grinned and matched two cards “Snap!” she pulled the bundle of cards towards her.

Osgood groaned in disbelief “Tell me I’m hallucinating” she took her glasses off and scrubbed her hands over her face. 

“The boys won’t believe this” Josh laughed and watched Kate carefully lay the cards out and match up the number pairs. “I’m going to leave you to it” he winked as he heard Osgood’s inhaler.

“Ma’am” Osgood keyed on the microphone and waited for Kate to look towards the camera. “We’re done, did you want me to patch you through the translator?”

“Oh well done” Kate sat back, crossing her legs and waiting for the slight hiss of noise to appear, glad that she could hear the subtle change. “My name is Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, Chief Scientific Officer of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce”

The alien stood up abruptly, surprised to hear her voice in his own language. He looked around the room, relaxing slightly when nobody else appeared. Putting the chair back in position he sat down slowly, eyes darting around the room one more time before settling on the blonde. “I am Bolak,” he said and flinched when his inaudible squeak was played back into the room as a deep baritone. “What have you done with my men?”

“They’re safe, we captured you when the invasion was beginning” Kate explained. “You should know that this planet is protected by a Time Lord and our own defenses”

“Invasion?” he looked even more confused as if the translation wasn’t quite correct. 

“We captured you and your men at the music festival after you landed and disguised yourselves” she indicated his tatty jeans and leather jacket. “Where were you going to move onto, what was your primary target?” 

“We had no target” he shook his head. “You are mistaken”

Kate looked at him, it was difficult to read a face that had been deliberately altered to make it appear more human. She tilted her head to the side slightly before making a decision. “Os?” she raised her voice slightly, waiting for the small voice to come over the speaker. “Did Carter finish cataloguing what we found on their tour bus”

“Yes, I can send you the list” Osgood opened the report and prepared to send it.

“Ask Jackson to bring in some water for our guest, I’ll come out and read the report” Kate waved her hand dismissively. Their captive had been clearly just as frustrated as her about their inability to communicate but he hadn’t been overtly hostile and none of the aliens had been violent when the effects of the “sonic sleep signals” had worn off. She was suddenly feeling that something wasn’t quite adding up in this alien invasion scenario.

*********************************************************

“You have got to be kidding me” Kate ran her hand through her hair and looked around the table. 

“Now that the translator is working we were able to question all of the……..” Osgood struggled to decide on a word that adequately described the status of the aliens they had incarcerated.

“Unwilling guests?” Kate suggested.

Osgood nodded and continued speaking without looking up from the table. “They all say the same thing, that they are really huge fans of Flaw and just wanted to sneak into the festival to…” she pushed her glasses up to read the quote written on her notepad “...experience the awesomeness firsthand”

“It took us three days to figure out what language they speak but we can translate ‘awesomeness’ thirty minutes later?!” Kate was really very annoyed.

“There were some contextual clues…” Osgood started to explain before seeing Kate’s raised hand.

“So just to clarify” the blonde pinched the bridge of her nose. “We mounted a fully armed assault in broad daylight, surrounded by thousands of civilians, to apprehend and detain an invading force of heavy metal fans”

“Deathgrind” Carter said before looking surprised that he’d said it out loud.

“Carter” Shindi warned him before cracking his knuckles. “I think we can all agree that a misunderstanding has occurred but it was a perfectly understandable misunderstanding” he realised he’d lost his way when he saw Osgood wince at his choice of words. “I mean, they may have only been wanting to see a band but they did arrive without giving us notice of their intent”

“And the subliminal signals they’ve been using to mask their ship in orbit have been playing havoc with Pharos, so it was reasonable to assume…” Osgood tried to help the Colonel but ran out of steam.

“Alright, get their tour bus put back together and someone get me the manager of Flaw” Kate looked as if she had a bad taste in her mouth. “Let’s get them all-access passes for the festival and off the planet before we make any more mistakes”

*******************************************

Osgood was helping two of her team as they indexed the language files from the translation matrix. She was concentrating on the big screen they were all looking at and didn’t hear the door open behind her. Kate stopped just inside the door, finally relaxing after a particularly hectic week. She knew she had some major apologies to make to the brunette and was hoping that they could leave soon to let her get started on the groveling. “Osgood?” she said quietly, not wanting to startle anyone.

“Ma’am” Osgood stood quickly, handing the keyboard to her colleague and nodding at them to continue what they were working on.

“Do you have a moment?” Kate asked and was disheartened to see a brief flash of discomfort cross the beautiful features. “It’s nothing bad” she bit her lower lip, trying to put the younger woman at ease.

“Of course” Osgood nodded and led the way into her office. “How can I help?” she turned to ask and was surprised to see Kate gently closing her office door. “Ma’am?”

“Please stop calling me that” Kate hadn’t meant to start here but here she was. “I know its a work thing”

“Dr. Stewart?” Osgood raised one eyebrow, fairly sure that this wasn’t a working visit from the way that the blonde was looking nervous.

“I deserve that” Kate nodded, sliding one hand into her pocket and resting the other on the back of the visitor’s chair. “Os, I’m sorry”

“What did you do?” Osgood liked to know why she was being apologised to.

“I was angry earlier, I didn’t mean to take it out on you” Kate looked down at her shoes.

“Yes you did, and you were right to be angry with us and yourself and the general situation” Osgood frowned. “If we’d made a few guesses early on we could have got the translation working sooner”

“You don’t guess” Kate pointed out. “And that’s not what I meant” she now had both hands in her pockets. “I think I overcompensated” she admitted.

Osgood blinked and tried to figure out what Kate was talking about. “You expect the best in all of us and yourself, when that doesn’t happen you…”

Kate interrupted her “No” she held up her hand “Stop” she took a deep breath. “Just let me finish” Osgood blinked again and sat down in her chair, waiting for Kate to get to the point. “I was worried that one day I’d be faced with having to choose between being your partner and your boss” Kate looked even more worried. “But today I was angry and then I saw you trying to help the Colonel make his point and for a moment I thought that I needed to not give you preferential treatment” she wound down, frowning at her inability to explain this properly.

Osgood waited to see if she was going to continue and only spoke when it was obvious that Kate had run out of steam. “So you think you were too angry with me?” 

“When I got together with Liz we were working in completely different departments and I’ve never had to deal with something like this before” Kate admitted quietly, settling into the visitor’s chair. “Which is no excuse for how badly I’m handling this” she waved her hand around the room to indicate the conversation they were having. 

“I don’t think you’re handling it at all” Osgood suggested quietly. “Are you apologising for shouting at me too much or not enough?”

“Apologising to my girlfriend shouldn’t be this hard” Kate frowned. 

“You shouldn’t be apologising to your girlfriend” Osgood interrupted her. “I kissed my girlfriend on Tuesday morning and since then I’ve been at work”

Kate blinked as she worked through what Osgood was telling her. “You can really separate things that easily?” she wasn’t sure whether she was relieved or concerned.

“It’s not easy but it’s necessary” Osgood explained. “Wait, you mean you can’t?” she finally caught up to the station Kate had been idling at for the last few minutes.

“I didn’t think I had but if you aren’t making me sleep on the sofa tonight then maybe I did manage to keep it strictly professional?” Kate asked hopefully.

“You really are infuriating sometimes” Osgood took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes. “Which was directed at my girlfriend and not my boss” she hurriedly added before putting her glasses back on and seeing Kate smiling gently at her. “Are you done for the day?”

Kate glanced at her watch “Since it’s nine-thirty on Friday night and we’ve worked non-stop since Tuesday, I think we’re both done” she stood and prepared to leave with the brunette. “What did I do wrong now?” she asked as Osgood stayed in her seat and frowned.

“We’re all done,” she said quietly and finally stood, walking around the confused blonde and stepping out into the lab. “Let’s finish this up tomorrow, go home and get some sleep,” she said to the two technicians. “We’ll be locked up and ready to leave in twenty minutes, ma’am” she remembered that Kate was still standing in her office doorway.

“Tip top” Kate rocked back and forward once before nodding and heading to her own office. “How does she do that?” she asked herself quietly, surprising two soldiers who were passing her in the corridor. “Sorry, as you were” she muttered as they both stopped and waited for her to say something else.


	27. Saturday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this one is probably NSFW....assuming I've written it properly :)

“You know I’ll never get the weeding done at this rate” Kate mumbled between kisses from the brunette by her side.

“I’m clearly not being very successful at persuading you to stay in bed if you’re still thinking about gardening chores” Osgood smiled as she rolled away and climbed out of bed.

“Shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” Kate got out of bed and followed Osgood into the ensuite. “Come back to bed, please?”

“I’m only kidding” Osgood turned on the shower before smiling. “I have to collect the last few things I need from the flat and you have gardening to do” she held out her hand to the blonde. “But we can save some time?” she raised her eyebrow and waited for Kate to get the clues.

“You get the tiles this time” Kate stepped into the shower first and waited for Osgood to join her. “But I promise to take your mind off them” she pulled the brunette into her arms as they settled under the warm water.

“My mind can cope with many things at once, you know” Osgood grinned and then jumped as Kate’s hands squeezed her bum. She was about to ask the blonde to warn her next time but the rebuke was lost in the deep, slow kiss that she found herself enthusiastically returning. “Love you” she whispered when she pulled back several moments later, finally opening her eyes to see Kate’s soppy grin and flushed cheeks. 

“Love you too” Kate’s hands had been holding onto the brunette’s hips during the kiss but she slid them up her sides until her thumbs could stroke the underside of the beautiful breasts. “Delicious” she mumbled before leaning down to engulf her nipple, licking and sucking it thoroughly before moving to the other breast.

“Kate” Osgood groaned, not sure how much longer she would be able to stay upright. “Please” she hoped that this would be enough information for the blonde to understand what she wanted.

“I’ve got you” Kate looked up and watched the brunette’s eyes flutter closed “You’re so beautiful” she sighed before returning to the breasts that moved gently in front of her. “I’ve got you” she whispered as she sucked the nipple harder than before, sliding her right hand down to Osgood’s hip. Pushing gently she persuaded her partner to lean against the tile wall, grinning around the nipple at the small yelp of annoyance when her back hit the cold surface. Straightening up she leaned in to kiss the parted lips, letting her left hand move back up towards her breast while her right slid between her legs. 

Osgood concentrated on the kiss, her tongue sliding against Kate’s. She didn’t notice the movement of the blonde’s hands until long fingers stroked against her. She moaned into the kiss, pushing her hips forward to get more attention from the slowly moving hand. Her left hand curled into Kate’s hair, slicked back by the shower, pulling her closer. She sucked Kate’s bottom lip into her mouth, letting it slide against her teeth before stretching her neck to give her some distance. “Kate” she breathed out as the blonde started kissing down her neck. “There,” she groaned as Kate slid fingers either side of her clit, knowing from months of practice that this was a surefire way to make her come.

“I’ve got you” Kate mumbled against her shoulder, needing to reassure the brunette that she wasn’t about to leave her hanging on the edge. “So beautiful” she whispered in her ear and pinched her nipple.

“Fuck” Osgood slammed her hips against Kate’s hand and held on for dear life. “Jesus” she ground out through her clenched jaw, riding against the skilled fingers as she screwed her eyes shut.

Kate held onto her, kissing along her shoulder and feeling her own shoulders relax. “So beautiful” she smiled as Osgood’s eyes opened and finally focussed on her. 

“Bugger the weeding” Osgood growled out before reaching behind the blonde and turning the water off. “Bed, now” she tried to order in an authoritative tone that was undermined by her wobble when Kate took a step away from her. 

***************************************************

“Enough” Kate begged as she tried to roll away from the pressure on her over-sensitised clit. “Os” she breathed heavily, this was more of a workout than she’d had recently and she was fairly sure that her leg muscles would be sore once the endorphins wore off. 

“One more?” the brunette grinned up at her, her chin resting on Kate’s thigh.

“Enough” she tried to use all of her command training to convey the message but knew that it came out sounding more like a plea for mercy. “Come here” she managed several seconds later, her breathing slowing down further.

Osgood crawled up the bed, looking around in confusion before spotting the sheets and quilt lying on the floor. “I’ll add laundry to my list of chores for the day” she couldn’t seem to stop grinning. “I think I’m going to like Saturday mornings in our bedroom” she nudged Kate’s arm where it was resting across her eyes. “Are you alright?” she waited for an answer and was rewarded a few seconds later when Kate let her arm slide to her side and turned her head, squinting at her blearily.

“Are too many orgasms bad for you, I’m asking for a friend?” Kate asked and broke into laughter as Osgood poked her in the side. “I give in!” she held up her hands in surrender and waited for the brunette to settle beside her again, resting her head on Kate’s shoulder.

“Next time Dr. Windsor asks if I get any exercise I’m telling him about this” Osgood felt the chuckle rumble through Kate’s chest. “Which reminds me, he’s always telling me to get more exercise” Osgood raised her head and flashed her eyebrows hopefully.

“I had no idea you were a nymphomaniac” Kate laughed and pulled Osgood to get her to lie against her chest again. “I’ll never look at you in a lab coat the same way again” she complained.

“It’s a recent trait” Osgood smiled and traced lines across Kate’s abdomen. “You seem to bring out the nympho in me”

Kate didn’t answer, just ran her hand through the brunette hair. “I’m starving” she finally admitted, rolling her head to squint at the bedside clock. “It’s 12!” 

“I could murder a bacon sandwich” Osgood admitted. “If we were twenty years younger we’d stay in bed all day” she pulled back to smile gently at the blonde. 

“I think you’re perfect as you are” Kate held onto the brunette’s hand. “But you’d be even more perfect eating a bacon sandwich”

“Yeah, yeah” Osgood leaned down for a quick kiss. “I’ll get the bacon started, you tidy up in here and have a proper shower this time” she pulled away and found her shorts and t-shirt from the night before under the quilt on the floor.

******************************************

Kate groaned and closed her eyes in bliss “I didn’t think this day could get any better” she mumbled around a mouthful of bacon.

Osgood blinked at her, transfixed by the long neck exposed as Kate let her head fall back a little. She whimpered when she saw the tongue poke out to catch some of the ketchup that was perilously close to the edge of the bread. “I’ll pick up something for dinner on my way back from the office later” she cleared her throat, trying to stop herself from leaning over and kissing her. 

Kate frowned, sitting up straighter and finishing her mouthful before taking a drink of her tea. “You’re going into work?” she put the remainder of the sandwich down, licking her finger where some ketchup had escaped. “They said they didn’t need you today” she reminded Osgood of the call she’d made earlier in the day.

“I know” Osgood nodded and glanced down at her own tea. “I just want to pop in and check that everything is okay”

“Okay,” Kate shrugged and waited for the eyes to lift to meet hers. “Get whatever you want for dinner, I’ll be in the greenhouse when you get back” she picked up her bread and finished lunch. “I thought you were going to the flat?”

“It’s a bit late to make a couple of trips there and back” Osgood blushed. “I’ll go tomorrow”

“You ravished me!” Kate complained and was relieved when Osgood stopped looking uncomfortable. “Finish your sandwich and I’ll do the dishes” Kate pointed at the untouched food on Osgood’s plate. “Unless you want me to….” she offered and laughed when Osgood grabbed the sandwich and bit into it.


	28. Tuesday

“Yes sir” Kate stared at her monitor, clicking through to her calendar as she listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. “I am quite busy until next…..” she closed her eyes and listened to the instructions. “Of course, I’ll clear my schedule”

Osgood finished reading the report before signing it off and sitting the folder on top of her ‘completed’ pile. Smiling at the progress she’d made after losing most of the previous week to the music festival fiasco, she decided to check her emails before heading out for lunch. “What on earth?” she muttered to herself as she found seven different meetings being canceled and rescheduled. Scanning down the meeting attendees she knew that Kate was the only other person who was involved in all of them. Opening a chat window she typed in a quick message, _“everything ok?”_

Kate squinted at her monitor but ignored the message that popped up “I think you still need to go to Madrid” she continued. “I should be able to wrap up the Central Command meetings by the end of this week”

“Alright, if you insist” Colonel Shindi agreed. “I’m sure Osgood and Carter can look after things for a few days” he didn’t look at all sure but he was determined to be positive.

“Yes well, we are only both a couple of hours away if they need us,” Kate said dryly and glanced back at the screen. “I need to clear up a few things before I head out, can you brief Carter?”

“Of course ma’am” Shindi stood and settled his holster “I doubt he’ll miss me as much as the science team will miss you” he kept a perfect poker face as she looked up at him sharply.

“I’m sure that razor-sharp wit will be very helpful to the Spanish team” Kate raised one eyebrow before looking back down at the papers in front of her, hearing the door close as he left with a chuckle. She thought for a moment before picking up her phone, “Osgood?” she took her glasses off and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Yes, everything’s fine, just a change of plans, could you come down to my office please?” 

*******************************

“This is why you should have let me finish the ironing last night” Osgood crossed her arms as she watched Kate break into a grin. “It’s not funny, Geneva won’t be impressed if you turn up in creased shirts and…..” she ran out of steam as Kate sat back and cocked her head to watch her. “What?”

“You are adorable” Kate smiled. “I am going to Geneva to have my arse kicked over the lack of progress on our alien barnacles and last week’s fiasco” Kate pointed out. “They won’t care what I’m wearing”

“That’s because they’re idiots” Osgood scowled before realising what she’d said in her boss’s office. “Anyway, we have made progress” she decided not to apologise as Kate seemed to be enjoying her discomfiture a little too much.

“We have?” Kate crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair. 

“McGillop confirmed that we can’t reactivate the armour once it’s been deactivated twice by the lasers” Osgood confirmed. “We’re able to get it to adhere to new plating if we hit it once with the laser and introduce the new surface within twenty-three minutes”

“That’s strangely specific” Kate looked amused and intrigued. 

“He’s been running tests for weeks, we know you like us to be thorough” Osgood looked embarrassed. “Donaldson has collected all of the remaining wreckage from around the thermal vents and we’re definitely sure it was from the Shavit launch vehicle, we found some of the original pieces of the rocket booster nearby”

“You have been busy” Kate was surprised but pleased that she had some good news to share.

“I’m just waiting for the last few tests to confirm some of the specifications and then I’ll send the report over to you, I can finish it up this evening” Osgood was keen to wrap up the report and give Kate something positive to take with her.

“No” Kate shook her head and put her glasses back on, reading an email that had appeared on her screen. “Apparently my flight leaves at eight tomorrow morning so you can email me the final report tomorrow, once its done”

“But I can get it finished…..” Osgood was confused.

“You have something much more important to work on this evening” Kate tried to keep a straight face but failed at the adorable scowl that appeared on Osgood’s face. “I might not be back until Friday evening” she dropped another hint and watched as the brunette finally realised what she was talking about. 

The blush crept up her neck and Osgood took a hit from her inhaler. “We can get take-out?” she finally suggested and stuffed her hands in her pockets as Kate grinned in agreement. “Alright, ma’am, I’d better get back to my report” she kept her hands in her pocket, afraid that she’d be tempted to touch her boss in a way that would get them both reported to HR if anyone was to catch them.

*********************************************

“I emailed Liz and apologised for missing the dinner tomorrow” Kate shared the remainder of the noodles between their bowls. “She did suggest you come along anyway, I told her I’d pass on the invitation”

“I’d rather you were there when we tell them about us moving in together” Osgood pushed her glasses back up her nose. “I don’t think they’ll react badly” she assured Kate as she watched her face fall. “I just think we should share the good news with them together”

“Fine by me” Kate shrugged and pulled out her phone. “I’ll text her and let her know, she can contact the boys” she typed in a quick message one-handed before dropping her phone and returning to her dinner.

“What time is the car picking you up?” Osgood asked, finishing off her noodles and snagging the last of the broccoli. 

“Should be here at seven, they can always use the siren if we struggle to get to the airfield for eight” Kate wasn’t all that bothered, at least the UNIT jet wouldn’t leave without her and she didn’t need to be at the airfield two hours before departure. “Which means we have twelve hours to fill” she stacked their bowls together on the coffee table before stretching out to relax with her feet propped up beside them. 

Osgood moved to sit beside her, burrowing under her arm and resting her hand just under Kate’s sweater. “We do have a lot of telly to catch up on” she grinned at the annoyed exhale from above her. “Did you finish packing?” she looked up and slid her hand slightly higher under the sweater on Kate’s nod of confirmation. “Maybe we should have an early night then, you are traveling tomorrow”

“I’m not exactly going on a slow boat to China” Kate protested before catching the wandering hand. “But I think I’d like an early night” she leaned down to kiss Osgood briefly. “Why don’t you go up, I’ll tidy away the dishes and join you in five minutes”

“Don’t dawdle” Osgood whispered in her ear before kissing her quickly and heading upstairs. 

Kate stacked the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and wiped down the surfaces. It was easier to tidy up after a take-out but she did miss cooking properly and vowed to make a nice dinner if she got home at the weekend. Grabbing a bottle of wine and two glasses she switched off the lights and headed upstairs. “Os?” she put the glasses down on her side of the bed and waited to hear her girlfriend’s reply. She undressed, dropping her underwear in the laundry hamper before pulling her sweater back on and wandering out to the hallway. “Os, everything okay?” she asked quietly as she pushed open the spare room door and found the brunette sitting on the side of the bed staring at her phone. “Darling, what’s wrong?” Kate sat down beside her and waited for a response that would tell her what kind of emergency she had to deal with.

“What?” Osgood finally noticed her presence and that she was still sitting on the spare bed. “Sorry, I got distracted” she held up her phone.

“Bad news?” Kate gently asked, rubbing her hand on Osgood’s knee.

“My parents want to visit this weekend” Osgood sighed. “So I suppose I have a few days to figure out how to break the happy news to them”

“Or just take them back to the flat, if that’s easier for you” Kate offered again.

“No, it’s ridiculous to be this scared of telling them, it’s not like I broke the glass in the greenhouse!” Osgood huffed out but managed a smile at Kate’s fake gasp of horror.

“I’ll definitely get back before you tell them, I’d like to be here,” Kate said softly.

“I can manage, no point them shouting at both of us if they don’t take it well” she looked down at her hands where they held tightly onto her phone.

“I’ll be here darling, someone needs to pour the whiskeys for your father” she bit her lower lip. “I can cook dinner for us on Saturday night?” 

“That would be nice but only if you’re sure” Osgood desperately wanted the support of Kate on the day but didn’t want her to be subjected to whatever negative reactions they may receive.

“The only thing I’m sure of is that I want to take you to bed and take your mind off your parents finding out that I’m having sex with their beautiful daughter” Kate had hoped that she’d sound romantic but the way that Osgood groaned and dropped her head into her hands suggested she hadn’t quite hit the correct tone.

“You know just the right things to say to Cybermen and Daleks and Time Lords” Osgood finally stood and undressed, dropping her clothes on the spare bed. “But you are rubbish at reassuring your girlfriend”

“That wasn’t on the required skills list for joining UNIT” Kate reminded her.

Osgood shook her head and walked towards their bedroom, “Come on” she said when Kate didn’t immediately follow her. 

“Why do you always get changed in the spare room?” Kate asked as they snuggled together under the quilt.

“Honestly?” Osgood pulled back to see Kate’s face properly and rolled her eyes on her nod of agreement. “If I was watching you getting undressed or dressed in here then we might never leave this room”

“Now that’s how to reassure your significant other” Kate smiled in surprise. “And I’m sorry for distracting you with my scarred old body” she leaned in to kiss the brunette but was pushed back by a hand on her chest.

“Hey” Osgood scowled. “Don’t be mean about my girlfriend’s body”

“Oh shut up and kiss me” Kate leaned forward again and was glad that the hand on her chest had strayed downwards a little to pull her tightly against Osgood’s warm body.


	29. Saturday

“And that’s when I told the General to leave us alone to get on with it” Kate admitted and refilled everyone’s water glasses. “Possibly reminding him that we’d saved the planet four times this year already, without their help, was a little unkind” she smiled.

“You didn’t?!” Osgood overcame her nervousness to stare at Kate. “Of course you did” she shook her head and pursed her lips. “One of these days….” she muttered and sipped her water.

“When Osgood told us she was working for UNIT I was so proud” Tom admitted shyly. “But knowing that she’s working with the Brigadier’s daughter is the icing on the cake” 

“Kate’s the Brigadier now” Osgood watched her father as he scowled briefly before understanding what she meant. 

“So that’s what you meant when you said Science Leads?” he asked.

“When they asked me to take over in London as Chief Scientific Officer I said it would only work if I was in charge of the military teams as well” Kate shrugged, sitting back from the table a little and putting her napkin down. “They didn’t really have much choice at the time but I know they regularly try to come up with ways to get out of it” She turned to watch Osgood’s mother return from the bathroom “Can I get you some tea Becky?” she asked.

Osgood glanced up, still not over the nerves from her arrival with her parents. Kate had arrived back from Geneva after midnight, falling into bed beside an anxious Osgood. This morning they had barely had time to kiss before they had quickly shopped for groceries in Waitrose and she’d gone to meet her parents. She hadn’t managed to start a sentence that would have ended with her telling them that she was living with Kate now, had trailed around after them and nodded whenever her father had asked if she was feeling okay. “I’ll tidy up the dishes” she pushed her chair back.

“Leave them, I’ll get them later” Kate’s eyes crinkled as she finally caught Osgood’s glance, just before it disappeared again. “It’s a lovely afternoon, why don’t we sit in the garden for a while?” 

Becky had been quiet since Osgood had explained that Kate wanted to cook them all lunch at her house. She’d pinched her lips and avoided responding, leaving it up to her husband to accept for both of them. He’d managed to keep the conversation going since they’d arrived and she’d relaxed a little during the lovely meal but she was still nervous of sitting with a Lethbridge-Stewart. She followed the tall blonde into a beautiful garden, teeming with flowers and a slightly ramshackle looking greenhouse. “You have a beautiful house Ms. Lethbridge-Stewart” she finally said as she walked around the borders with Kate, Osgood and her father had wandered off to admire a rockery.

“Please, call me Kate” she insisted, glad that the older woman had finally spoken directly to her. She’d been able to sense Osgood’s increasing despair as the meal had gone on and she was glad that they hadn’t remained around the table. “Thank you for coming today, I know Osgood was looking forward to seeing you both again”

“I didn’t think that would be the kind of thing she talked about at work” Becky was surprised but it was just another one in an increasing list as the day went on. 

“On the contrary, she’s mentioned it a few times this week” Kate bent over to grab a weed that she’d missed last weekend. “Sorry, I always miss one or two” she shrugged before dropping the weed into a nearby bucket.

“The azaleas are beautiful” Becky struggled to find a topic that she could comfortably broach with the intimidating woman. She could see that Osgood was terrified of her boss and didn’t want to cause a scene when the woman had made the effort to cook for them. She watched Kate nod distractedly and look over towards Osgood. “I’m sure they won’t do any damage” Becky guessed that she was worried about her garden.

“Mmm?” Kate shook her head and returned to pay attention to Osgood’s mother. “Oh no, I don’t mind” she turned away to guide Becky to her prized rhododendron in the corner. “I planted this with my sons when we first moved in here, it was in a ten-inch pot and I didn’t think it would last one season” 

Becky made the appropriate noises of pleasure at the flowers and bushes they walked past, catching Kate looking over towards the others several more times. “Do your sons still live with you?” she finally ran out of horticultural questions to ask.

“No, they’ve both moved out but we see each other every month, work permitting” Kate smiled softly before frowning as she realised what she’d said. “We’re meeting up tomorrow actually” she tried to save the conversation and was relieved when her phone rang. “Excuse me” she stepped away and pulled her mobile from her pocket. 

Becky watched as her face lit up with a smile for whoever had called her, probably a boyfriend she thought idly. Turning around she found Osgood and her father talking quietly in the corner of the garden, no doubt conspiring over something or other. Walking towards them to give Kate some privacy she was surprised when Tom suddenly hugged his daughter and Osgood buried her face in his neck. “What’s wrong?” she asked and they both stepped away from the embrace before turning to meet her.

“Nothing” Osgood managed with barely a sniffle. “Just talking shop” she lied knowing that her mother wouldn’t inquire any further if she thought it related to UNIT. “Where’s Kate?” she looked around.

“She took a call, I think she went into the greenhouse” Becky gestured towards the other end of the garden. “It wasn’t work, I think it might be a man” she shared and they both stared back at her without making any comment. “Well it would do her good to have someone, she must rattle around this big house all by herself” Becky was in full flow by now and neither her husband nor daughter attempted to stop her.

Kate walked back over to them “Sorry about that, it was Gordy, my son” she explained and saw the brief flinch of worry cross Osgood’s face. “He’s popping over to find an old photograph” she smiled and glanced at her watch. “Why don’t I pop the kettle on and we can have a cuppa before he arrives” she walked towards the kitchen.

Osgood nodded briefly at her dad’s reassuring squeeze on her elbow “I’ll help you with the tea” she offered and followed Kate inside. “I told my dad,” she said breathlessly before taking a hit from her inhaler.

“Are you alright?” Kate looked over her shoulder to see where the guests were and was relieved to see them walking towards the greenhouse. “What did he say?” she asked as she pulled her girlfriend into a hug.

“He said he loved me and asked if you made me happy” Osgood pulled back a little and gave Kate a watery smile. “Oh and he said he still has his service weapon so you’d better not hurt his little girl”

Kate was speechless, which hardly ever happened. “I….” she finally managed before shaking her head and hugging Osgood again quickly. “Let’s get the tea sorted out,” she said several moments later.

*****************************************

Gordy unlocked the front door and walked towards the open doors into the garden. “Mum,” he said and stood awkwardly when he saw the strangers. “Os,” he said in relief when he spotted her coming around the corner of the house. Stepping towards her he pulled her into a quick hug before standing back.

“This is Osgood’s mother and father, Becky and Tom Osgood” Kate explained when Osgood suddenly decided to clean her glasses. “This is my son, Gordon, although he only answers to Gordy these days” she rolled her eyes in the way that only an indulgent mother can.

Becky watched the little tableau play out in front of her and immediately realised what was happening. Standing quickly she held her hand out to the very nice looking young man. “Gordy, it’s a pleasure to meet you” she grinned. 

Gordy was surprised at her effusiveness but automatically took her hand and smiled at her. “It’s lovely to meet you both” he shook hands with the older man who remained sitting at the table, across from Kate. “I’m sorry for interrupting” he apologised and was about to offer to come back later when the older woman suddenly pulled out the chair beside her.

“Nonsense, you sit here and Osgood will get you a cup of tea” she suggested and saw Osgood blush slightly before heading inside to get Gordy a mug. 

Osgood handed him the mug and smiled at his slightly confused look, people often looked like that when her mother decided to organise a gathering. “What photograph are you looking for?” she asked, trying to bring some normality back to the table. She glanced up at Kate and saw her sitting back, looking relaxed for the first time in a few weeks, talking quietly with Tom. They were clearly talking about her and she’d have loved to know what they were saying but she knew Kate would tell her later, once they were alone again.

“Oh, it was a baby photo” Gordy sipped his tea and blushed a little. “There’s a thing at work for charity, we all have to bring in a baby photo and people have to guess who’s who”

Becky watched Osgood blossom under the young man’s attention and it hadn’t escaped her notice that her daughter knew exactly how he liked his tea. “I’m sure you were a lovely baby” she patted his hand.

“He looked like an onion for the first six months” Kate grinned. “You did!” she insisted as Gordy complained. “When you were born you had one patch of hair that grew straight up in the middle, I even tried hair gel on it”

“Stop being mean” Osgood giggled at Gordy’s outraged protestations. “I’m sure we’ll all agree it wasn’t that bad when Gordy shows us the photograph he chooses” 

“No way” Gordy protested. “I thought you were on my side” he accused Osgood and pretended to be annoyed until she gave him a one-armed hug. “Right, I’m going to drag out some old pictures of mum as well, as protection” he winked at his mum and put his mug on the table. “It was lovely meeting you” he smiled at the older couple and walked inside.

“There are photographs in the attic?” Osgood asked, one eyebrow raised in a passable imitation of Kate’s go-to expression. 

“Nope,” Kate shook her head. “Anything up there is covered by the Official Secrets Act” she explained and joined in the laughter at the silliness.

“He’s a lovely young man,” Becky said as she sipped her tea. “And very handsome” she nudged Osgood as she pointed this out.

Osgood nodded in agreement without really paying attention, concentrating on how she could sneak up to the attic to find incriminating evidence of a younger Kate. She was vaguely aware of conversation carrying on around her before she forced herself to pay attention. Kate and her father were good-naturedly arguing over who would wash up the tea things “Just leave them, I’ll do the dishes after I’ve dropped you off at the train station” she suggested and smiled at her father.

Kate held her breath, waiting to see if Osgood would realise what she’d said. She glanced at Becky and was surprised to see a smug look on her face. “What time is your train?” she asked and Becky glanced at her watch.

“Four thirty, how long will it take to get to the station?” she asked Osgood.

“Take my car,” Kate said, standing and carrying several mugs and plates back into the kitchen. “I’ll stay here and supervise the firstborn” she rolled her eyes, sticking her hands in her pockets to stop herself reaching out to brush Osgood’s hair behind her ear. “Take your time,” she said, trying to convey her support to Osgood. 

******************************************

“He’s a lovely young man” Becky held her handbag on her knee and looked out the windscreen as they drove through the outskirts of London. “Why didn’t you tell us?” she turned to look at her daughter.

“Tell you what?” Osgood asked, turning briefly to frown at her mother before returning her attention to the road.

“I wouldn’t have embarrassed you in front of his mum” Becky continued coyly. “I’m just glad you’ve finally found someone”

Tom was sitting in the back of the car, his hand over his mouth to hide the grin. “Now Becky, it might not be…” he tried to help.

“Oh shush” Becky waved her hand at him. “I saw how nervous you were today and I know she’s a bit scary but you seemed to relax a lot more when he arrived” she put her hand gently on Osgood’s arm before returning to hold her bag.

“Mum, he’s not my boyfriend” Osgood was breathing a little harder, she didn’t think this day could get any worse but her expectations were being exceeded.

“Oh, I know you young people don’t like to call it that anymore” Becky smiled indulgently.

Osgood blinked and struggled to gather her thoughts. She could hear her father pretending to cough behind her in an attempt to hide his laughter. “Right, nothing else for it” she finally muttered and pressed the call button on the steering wheel.

Kate was sitting in the garden looking through photo albums and laughing as Gordy remembered various family gatherings. Her phone was sitting beside her and when she heard the ringtone she picked up the phone and answered without a second thought. “Hello d…..” she started and was startled to hear Osgood loudly cut her off.

“Kate!” she practically shouted to stop her usual greeting. “You’re on speaker with mum and dad” she hastily explained.

“Os, is everything alright?” Kate sat forward, looking worried and raising a hand to stop Gordy from asking what was going on.

“Sort of, not really, I’ll explain when we get back” she glanced over her shoulder and Kate heard the indicator in the car signaling that she was turning. “Mum and dad will get a later train, is Gordy still there?”

“He is, do you need him to make himself scarce?” she asked and shrugged her shoulders when Gordy raised an eyebrow. “OK, we’ll see you in ten minutes then” she barely remembered not to tell the brunette she loved her before ending the call and staring at her phone. “I have no idea what’s going on but they are on their way back here” Kate dropped the phone and drummed her fingers on the table-top.

“I should go” Gordy closed the album they’d been looking at and shuffled the three photographs he’d chosen to scan.

“Apparently you need to stay as well” Kate looked even more puzzled. “Why don’t you fill the dishwasher and I’ll go and sort out some alcohol, I have a feeling we’re going to need it” she stood and slipped her phone back in her pocket before wandering into the house. Gordy stared after her, worried that she was worried.

****************************************************

“Petronella tell me what is going on this instant!” Becky demanded as the car swept back into Kate’s street.

“Five more minutes” Osgood grimaced, she really hated her first name. “I’ll explain when we get inside” she maneuvered the car into the driveway.

Kate stood at the front door, watching Osgood park her car and the obvious annoyance of her mother. “Problem?” she asked as Tom got to her first.

“I’m sure we’ll all have a laugh about it” he suggested with just a hint of worry that he was being optimistic.

“Go straight through to the garden, Gordy will get you a drink” Kate smiled at him.

“Mum please” Osgood sounded frustrated and annoyed in equal measure and Kate clenched her fists before taking a deep breath. 

“Kate, I’m so sorry, I have no idea what’s gotten into her” Becky was a little red in the face as she trailed after her daughter. “She won’t tell me what’s wrong”

“Let’s get everyone a drink and we can sort it out,” Kate said soothingly and ushered the older woman through the door. “Os?” she asked quietly as the brunette finally arrived in front of her.

“I only want to explain this once, can we just get it over and done with?” Osgood huffed and watched as Kate went through several different emotions before nodding her agreement. Everyone was standing awkwardly around the garden table when they both arrived and Osgood took a hit from her inhaler before pushing her glasses up her nose. “Right, I need to explain something…” she started.

“Why are you being so dramatic, you won’t be the first woman to fall for the boss’s son” Becky interrupted and heard a groan from Osgood.

“What?” Kate was bewildered by this turn of events. “Os?” she asked again when nobody said anything.

“I’m sorry if you were trying to keep it a secret from her but it’s so obvious when you’re together, she would have worked it out eventually,” Becky thought she’d figured out what all the fuss was about.

“She’s old enough to be his mother!” Kate protested a second before her brain kicked in and realised this was quite possibly the worst thing she could have said.

“Hey!” Osgood glared at her and Gordy looked offended as well. “I’ll deal with you later” she pointed a finger at Kate before turning back to her mother. “I’m not in love with Gordy, we’re not an item, I’m very much in love with someone else, someone who isn’t Gordy,” Osgood said as clearly as she knew how.

Becky frowned and looked around at the frozen tableau, her husband had his hand over his eyes, Gordy was looking amused and Kate was blushing and looking at her shoes. “Who is he?” she finally asked.

“You dumped me for someone else?” Gordy asked in pretend outrage but thought better of his attempt at levity when Osgood glared at him. “Sorry Os” he mumbled and winced as his mother backhanded him in the stomach. “Sorry mum” 

“Why can I communicate with alien barnacles more easily than my own mother?” Osgood took a deep breath and put her hands on Becky’s shoulders. “It’s Kate, I’m in love with Kate” she kept eye contact and felt the muscles stiffen where her hands rested. “I’m gay” she realised that was probably in the wrong order but was losing the will to live after the events of the past few hours.

“Someone mentioned drinks” Tom finally broke the stunned silence with his quiet statement but he may as well have used a loudhailer. “Gordy, give me a hand” he suggested and the two men went into the kitchen.

Kate watched Osgood and Becky, she could see that the brunette was preparing herself for the worst so decided to step in to help her. “Let’s have a seat” she pulled a chair out for the older woman. “Come on, sit down” she waited for her to sit before sending an encouraging smile over her head at her anxious girlfriend. “Os?” she said and sat at the end of the table with Os on one side of her and Becky on the other. “I’m sure you have questions” she stated and watched a tear roll down the older woman’s face. 

Osgood hadn’t taken her eyes off of her mother since they sat down and she saw the tears start as the older woman tried to calm her breathing. “Mum, you can shout at me if you want” she felt her own voice waiver.

“How could you do this?” Becky finally said and Osgood was confused before she realised her mother was staring at Kate.

“How could I not love her, she’s the most intelligent, beautiful and adorable woman I’ve ever met” Kate replied honestly, glad that Osgood’s mother seemed to be taking it out on her. 

“You coerced her, because of her job, she’d do anything to work for you awful people” Becky sobbed, opening her handbag to find some handkerchiefs.

“Mum!” Osgood wasn’t having Kate take all of the flack.

“Os,” Kate said quietly before turning to the distraught woman. “Becky I can promise you that I have done nothing of the sort and you do your daughter a great disservice to suggest otherwise” she waited for Os’s mother to blow her nose. “You daughter is second-in-command of the largest covert scientific organisation on the planet and she has that position because of her hard work and genius” she could feel herself getting annoyed. “UNIT could manage without me but Osgood is vital to the safety of Earth and has proven her worth many times over already”

“I couldn’t manage without you” Osgood swiped her eyes, she didn’t want Kate to think she was sad. “We make a fabulous team either at work or at home”

“Home?” Becky watched the interaction between the two women.

“I’m living here now” Osgood sighed. “I was going to tell you but things got a little hectic at work and then you said you were coming down today”

“Os only finished moving in this week and I’ve been in Geneva until early this morning” Kate explained. “Neither of us wanted you to find out like this but here we are”

Tom and Gordy reappeared from the kitchen carrying several glasses and a tray with cheese and crackers on it. “Something to celebrate with” Tom handed out the drinks and watched his wife finish dabbing her eyes. “Becky, love?” he waited for her to look at him and watched as she tried to gather herself. “Kate makes our little girl happy, what more do you want?” he said quietly.

“You’re happy?” she asked Osgood and saw a watery smile appear on her daughter’s face. “If you ever hurt her…” she turned to Kate who squared her shoulders to accept the threat.

“Tom already has you covered there” Kate raised her glass to Osgood’s father who smiled at her before putting his arm around his wife’s shoulders.


	30. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Right, I thought this was finished last night but wiser counsel prevailed and this wee epilogue hopefully helps wind things up more successfully.
> 
> I think this will be the first in a series, it seems to fit with where I want them to be :)

Osgood groaned and stretched out on the sofa, arching her back before settling back into the cushions. “Just there” she sighed and felt the cramped muscles start to release. “You are so good at this”

Kate pressed a little deeper with her thumb before looking at the brunette indulgently “I’ll run you a bath after this” she concentrated on a particularly tense muscle.

“I think you’re forgiven” Osgood opened her eyes and watched Kate watching her. “Although I’m not complaining if you’ll join me?”

“Just let me pamper you tonight, you’ve had a tough day” Kate insisted, tapping her shin and waiting until the brunette moved her other foot onto Kate’s lap. “And I am sorry, of all the things that were wrong with what your mother was saying!”

“It was funny, now that they’re back on the train” Osgood admitted. “Hey don’t stop” she protested when Kate stopped her foot massage.

“I’m just glad Gordy offered to drive them to the station” Kate settled back and started working her magic again. 

“I feel bad for Dad” Osgood squirmed as Kate pushed on a particularly good bit. “Mum was just figuring out that he knew before her when Gordy headed out”

“I’d feel bad for Gordy but he was mean to you as well” Kate bit her lip as she concentrated on what she was doing.

Osgood closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. “Kate,” she said quietly.

“Mmm?” the blonde watched the relaxed woman stretched out on the sofa and marveled again that she was lucky enough to have her in her life.

“Let’s give the bath a miss” Osgood sat up and moved to kiss the slightly confused but willing blonde.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with this, I hope you've enjoyed it!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Darklioness82 for letting me use her post and triggering this "short" story


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